


Time Does Not Heal All Wounds

by monarose



Category: Divergent (Movies), Divergent Series - Veronica Roth
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Rape, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-27
Updated: 2016-01-28
Packaged: 2018-05-16 18:15:52
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 23
Words: 51,959
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5835880
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/monarose/pseuds/monarose
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Olivia was a regular Amity girl when one day she was assaulted by Eric and left with life altering circumstances, a child. When Eric comes into her life again, will she accept him as her child's father or avoid him at all costs? How will Eric fare in a completely different faction than his own? AU. No War.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> I don't own Divergent and this story has rape and a lot of sexy scenes near the end.

Olivia’s father was deathly ill, so much that the Amity doctors had him transferred to the Erudite hospital within the city for better treatment. She was on her way to visit him early that morning because she wanted to be there as soon as visiting hours started. There was another hour before the sky turned into a colourful painting as the sun woke up and she didn’t feel safe walking in the dark so Olivia was hoping to take the train while no one else was on it. It was a long ride away even on the train, one that would take that hour to get there.

Technically anyone was allowed to use the train, it just so happened that no one did other than the Dauntless faction because the train never stopped. People were either afraid or too out of shape to get on, but Olivia was going to try. The Amity life kept her in good shape, maybe not Dauntless shape, but good enough that she could catch up to the train and pull herself on. Relieved that she made it, she relaxed by sitting on the floor and rested her head against the rattling wall.

She was half way there when she heard more footsteps running alongside the train and male voices egging each other. Worried that they might get mad that she was on the train she hugged her knees and hoped they caught a different car.

She had no such luck as one guy pulled himself up. He was about her age, she guessed, with short blond hair and blue eyes. He was very good looking, even with the two piercings above his right eye and the maze like tattoos on both his arms that peaked out from his rolled up sleeves.

His gaze caught her and he stiffened slightly, like he wasn’t expecting anyone else on. Two more guys the same age hopped on one after the other and saw her too.

“Hey, look what we have here! An Amity girl all alone on the Dauntless train where she doesn’t belong.” The shortest one of them said. His brown eyes took her in and she immediately got a bad feeling. The third guy gave her an air kiss and said, “Should we punish her Eric? She looks like a bad girl who needs a good spanking.”

Her stomach turned at his words directed at the first guy who got on. She looked at Eric, pleading with her eyes for him not to do whatever they were thinking of doing.

She knew she was pretty, her auburn hair had natural soft curls to her mid back and her tanned skin made her green eyes stand out, but that didn’t give them the right to assault her.

The third man grabbed her arm and hauled her up. She squeaked in fear and he laughed in her face. His breath smelt of alcohol and his blue eyes raked over her just like the second guy’s did. The fact that they all were good looking did nothing to quell the disgust she felt towards them.

“Ralph, let her go man. She’s not worth punishing.” Eric said indifferent to her situation.

“Of course she is! She’s on Dauntless territory and if you want to be leader then you better toughen up and protect what is ours!” Ralph said but when Eric didn’t reply he continued, “If you don’t do it then John here will and we’ll tell everyone what a coward you are. You’ll never make leader then.”

Anger flashed across Eric’s eyes and he marched over to John, who still held her arm and motioned for him to get lost. Her heart rammed against her ribcage as John let go and joined his friend across the compartment. Eric towered over her, her head reached his collar bone so he leaned down to look at her.

His mouth was set in a grim line when he pushed her up against the wall and lifted her up. Olivia screamed and thrashed, trying to get away but he was too strong. He maneuvered himself between her kicking legs and lifted her skirt above her waist one handed. She continued to scream, praying someone would hear and rescue her, until something large forced its’ way into her.

Her scream caught in her throat at the pain and all she could do thereafter was sob as he held both her hands against the wall on either side of her head and continued to ram into her fiercely. As he got nearer to finishing, he had his face against her neck as he grunted in climax. His heavy breathing was hot against her skin while he gathered himself before letting her fall to the floor.

Zipping up his pants, his friends cheered and clapped him on the back in congratulations. “Now that’s what it takes to be a Dauntless leader! And just in time too, here comes our stop.” Ralph said happily.

The other two jumped out without a backwards glance at her and Eric made his way to the door slowly. He looked at her briefly, giving nothing away on how he felt and he jumped too.

She stayed on the train sobbing until it made its’ way back to the gate by Amity, her father completely forgotten. She was sore between the legs and blood stained her skirt but she managed to hop of the train and made her way home.

Her mother was surprised to see her home so soon and quickly became frightened at how dishevelled her daughter looked. “What happened Olivia?!” She rushed over and helped her to sit down in a chair at the kitchen table.

Through her tears she said, “I took the train to see dad, but I never made it because three guys got on and they…. They… raped me.” She broke down and cried harder into her mother’s shoulder.

Linda held her daughter tightly and let her cry, rocking back and forth, whispering softly to her. When Olivia began to calm down, she asked, “Were they Dauntless?” Olivia nodded her head. “Did all three of them hurt you?” She probed.

“No, two of them told the other guy to do it.” She replied numbly.

“Did you catch their names?”

Olivia hesitated. What if nothing happened to them if she told? Would it come back to haunt her? Would they? She didn’t want to look over her shoulder for the rest of her life so she lied and shook her head.

“Oh, my poor baby. We’ll get through this, you’ll be alright.” Linda said sadly and hugged her again. Olivia felt numb, her tears were spent and she was tired. So her mother helped her to her bed and she fell asleep.  
*****  
Olivia stared at her reflection in the mirror. Two weeks had gone by since the incident and Olivia was coping as best she could, but the last few days she began to feel sick. Worried, her mother took her to see the Amity doctor where she found out she was pregnant.

Her eyes looked haunted and her skin was pale compared to her usual glow. She couldn’t believe this was going to be her life now. Her first time was forced upon her by some asshole and now she was going to be a single mother at the age of 18.

As tough as it might become, she was glad for her community. Amity showed kindness to everyone no matter what and she hated the thought of being in another faction in her condition where she would probably be ridiculed for it. Amity would help her raise her child in a place where it wouldn’t matter who his/her father was and they would never find out the ugly truth of their conception.

She promised herself that Eric would never know about his child if she could help it, he didn’t deserve to be a father. And she would live her life, happy and full. This would not turn her into a victim.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would also like to say that I do not condone Rape or letting your attacker get away. If this has happened to you or anyone else you know, please tell the authorities and get proper help. This is just a story for the sake of entertainment.


	2. Chapter 2

8 years later….

It was a warm summer day with a slight breeze and the sun shone brightly down on Olivia and her son Connor as they picked strawberries from the bush and put them into baskets.

He was eight years old this year and he looked more and more like his father, blond hair and blue eyes with the promise of broad shoulders that would come with puberty. Except his curls came from her, she supposed.

She was twenty-six years old now and though she looked exactly the same, she felt much older. Raising a child did that to you. Their life in Amity was a blessed one. Her father had died not long after Connor was born so her mother lived with them at the cottage and helped her out with her son.

Many of their neighbours often helped them out with whatever they needed and did not judge. They liked the rambunctious boy who ran and laughed, climbing trees and worked hard in the field on the weekends. His grades were good in school too. Though Olivia never left Amity in fear of meeting those men again, she did allow Connor to go to school with the rest of the children.

She still was not married, but she was happy to say that she did have an admirer in the form of Jacob Willemsen. He was a transfer from Abnegation the same year she chose to stay in Amity. He was a quiet man, most of the time he stayed to himself which is why it was only a year ago that he finally started showing signs of attraction towards her. She liked him well enough, he would make a good father and they got along. She hoped soon he would grow the courage to actually ask her out.

The sounds of a vehicle arriving at the compound drew her attention away from watching Connor stuff a strawberry into his mouth rather than the basket and stood up to see who it was. She had seen vehicles like this one before over the years but they were too far away for her to recognize the people who got out. There were three of them, wearing black, and they marched into the main building.

Her stomach dropped because she knew they were Dauntless and even though she hadn’t seen Eric again, she worried that one day she would. Most of the time they came and went not long after seeing Joanna for whatever reason and she hoped today would be the same.

The sun began to lower a few hours later and they stopped their picking for the night, dumping the fruit they had picked into the container at the edge of the field for someone to clean tomorrow morning.

Tonight they ate in the cafeteria instead of their home because they were informed that a meeting would be held right after dinner. The three of them took seats at the very back of the brightly lit room and Olivia ate in silence while her mother and son chatted.

Olivia noticed as they came into the building that the Dauntless’ car was still parked outside, but she couldn’t see anyone in black sitting down for dinner in the cafeteria. She wondered what the meeting could be about as she absentmindedly ate her food.

The clock struck eight o’clock and everyone was asked to join Joanna in the main meeting room. Olivia and her family got up to leave but Connor stopped them. “I need to use the washroom, mom.”

Olivia caressed his head and said, “Ok. Grandma and I will get seats by the pillar, you can meet us there when you’re done but don’t take too long.” Connor nodded his head and ran off in the opposite direction of the meeting room.

She and Linda sat down in the spot they told Connor they would and waited as more people came in. Joanna stood at the front with a Dauntless man Olivia didn’t recognize, not that she knew many of them anyway, but he looked important.

People were still filing into the large room five minutes later and Olivia wondered where her son was so she looked toward the entrance and her heart stopped. Standing a few feet away from the door stood Eric and in the corner of her eye she spotted Connor bounding through the doors and cringed as he bumped into his father.  
***

  
Eric felt someone small crash into him and he caught the boy before he fell backwards. He guessed the kid was probably seven or eight and reminded him a lot of himself when he was young.

“Sorry, sir! I gotta find my mom… Oh there she is.” He said and pointed towards someone in the crowd.

Eric followed his gaze and found a familiar woman urgently waving for the kid to go to her. He watched the boy leave and realized where he had seen her from.

He silently cursed himself. Of course she would be here. She must have recognized him because she was frantic about getting the kid away from him. Eric froze. She had a kid and he was around the right age. No, it couldn’t possibly be true. He didn’t have children. Did he?

As the meeting started, Eric couldn’t pay attention to a single word of it. His mind raced with thoughts of that night and what it would mean if he had a son he didn’t know about.

The meeting wasn’t that important anyway, but Amity all had to agree on something to make a decision so here they were waiting for them to decide whether or not the Dauntless could lessen the amount of guards around the city. It meant there would be less protection if something happened, but nothing had happened in over a century and the Dauntless were getting restless. They hoped to have fewer guards on the outside and more on the inside to help keep the peace instead.

As Max explained the decision on Dauntless’ behalf, Eric’s eyes wandered back over to the Amity girl and her son. He could tell she was fighting to not look over at him and paid attention to what Max was saying instead. He wasn’t sure if she knew that he recognized her or not but the kid obviously didn’t know about him.

As usual the meeting came to an end after much deliberation amongst the Amity community and they agreed to have the fewer guards. Satisfied that they got what they wanted, Max and Sandra began to leave but Eric caught them by the door.

“Mind if I take a few more minutes? I need to speak with someone before we go.” He asked them.

“Sure, we’ll wait in the car.” Max answered and they left him waiting outside the door.

As soon as he saw her step out the door, he matched strides with her and said, “I need to talk to you.”

He had startled her but she kept her gaze forward. “I have nothing to say to you.”

“But I have something to say to you.” He said. The boy and the older woman with her gave them curious looks.

Olivia abruptly stopped. “Like what?”

Eric looked at the other two and said, “Can we go somewhere private?”

“I am not going anywhere private with _you_.” She said indignantly.

Eric sighed and clenched his jaw. He did not want to do this in front of others. “I promise nothing will happen. Please?”  
***

  
Against her better judgement she wanted to know what he had to say so she asked her mother to take Connor home and told Eric to follow her outside. She took him to the greenhouse where no one would overhear their conversation and she could get a weapon if she needed it.

“What is it? Came to gloat that you got what you wanted by raping me? I’m assuming you’re a leader now since you’re here.” She said with bitterness.

Eric did not look happy at her outburst. “I did not get leader because of that. I worked hard and earned it, but I was young and stupid, and we had been drinking. I regret ever touching you because I was afraid they would call me a coward, but they were right, I was a coward because I didn’t stand up for you.”

“Oh, so now I’m supposed to forgive you because you made a heartfelt speech about being sorry? I don’t think so. Actions speak more than words.” She shot back, her arms crossed in front of her.

“Look, I wanted to say I’m sorry and I did, but I also wanted to know if your son is mine too.”

Olivia was stunned. “What makes you think you have a right to ask that?”

“I probably don’t but I need to know.” He replied.

Olivia grew angry. “ _If_ he was your son, you most certainly are _not_ his father. You were not the one to stay up with him all night when he was sick, you did not teach him to walk or throw a ball. I did that. We’re done and I don’t want you anywhere near Connor.”

She brushed passed him and stormed out of the greenhouse. She didn’t even care to bother to see if Eric followed her or not.


	3. Chapter 3

Olivia stalked home, seething with anger. When she got there, Connor was already in bed and her mother sat at the table, waiting for her.

“Who was that man, and what did he want?” Linda asked concerned as she watched Olivia pace.

“That,” She pointed towards the door. “Was Connor’s father.”

What they both didn’t realize was that Connor was curious too, and had peeked around the corner to hear their conversation.

Linda frowned, “I suppose he knows about Connor now.” Olivia nodded in acknowledgement. “Does he want to be in his life?”

“I have no idea. I told him to leave us alone and stormed out of there as soon as he found out.” She replied, exhausted with today’s turn of events.

“You should report him, Olivia. Now that you know who he is, we can get proof that he’s Connor’s father and he can pay for what he did.” Lind urged.

“No. I don’t want to involve him in our lives any more than he already is, which thankfully, is not that much.”

“But Joanna could help us figure this out. You need the closure.”

“Mom, I said no, and that’s final. I’m going to bed.” She declared and left the cozy living/dining room to go down the empty hallway that led to the three bedrooms and went into the farthest one.

The next morning, Olivia and her mom were making breakfast when Connor made an appearance. “Good morning sweetheart. Breakfast is almost done if you want to sit down.” She said to him.

“I’m going to skip breakfast today, mom.” He said.

She gave him a confused look. “Why?”

“I promised Ned that I would meet him before going to school. Maybe they will have some food left over if I get there fast.” He explained.

Olivia contemplated it for a second and then nodded. “Sure, you can go. Have a good day and I’ll see you when you get home, ok?”

“Thanks, bye mom, bye grandma!” He grabbed his books and ran out the door.

Linda shook her head at his silliness and they sat down to eat. An hour later there was a knock at the door. Not expecting visitors, Olivia answered it to find her neighbour Carl.

“Good morning, Olivia, Linda.” He said, nodding his head at each of them in greeting.

“Good morning, Carl. What can I do for you?” She asked him.

“Joanna is requesting your presence in her office. Connor’s with her.”

“Connor? Did something happen?” She was instantly worried.

“Not sure, Joanna just asked me to get you.” He said.

“Ok, thanks Carl.” She thanked him. “Mom, I’m just going to see Joanna for a second.” She called into the house and closed the door behind her.

Olivia walked as fast as she could to the main building and found Connor slumped in a chair, pouting, in front of Joanna’s desk. She rushed over and crouched in front of him. “What happened? Why aren’t you at school?”

“He skipped so he could talk to me.” Joanna said from behind her desk. “Please, take a seat.” She motioned for Olivia to take the other chair. Olivia did and looked at each of them expectantly.

“Connor, can you give us a moment please?” Joanna asked him, he took the chance to not get yelled at and ran out. She continued once he left, “Connor wanted to ask me if I could help him see his father. When I said I didn’t know who he was, he told me that last night you said it was the blond Dauntless man you talked to. I’m assuming he’s talking about Eric. Is this true? Did Eric rape you?” Joanna asked concerned.

Olivia cringed at the question, this was not what she needed right now. But it was already set in motion so she replied, “Yes, he did.”

“And what did he have to say last night?”

“He apologized, and asked if Connor was his.” Olivia replied.

“Well, we’ll need proof that he is the father so I am officially accusing him of rape and require he submit DNA for a paternity test. If Dauntless feels he is guilty of this crime, I am also going to suggest he be sent back to us for sentencing.” Joanna announced and Olivia nodded in agreement, though inside she prayed they didn’t send him back.  
***

Eric walked into Max’s office as soon as he heard that the man wanted to see him. He was hunched over a piece of paper with a hand caressing his forehead and he looked up when Eric entered and asked him to sit.

Max analyzed him and frowned; Eric wondered what this could be about. “I have a document from Joanna here that states you have been formally charged with raping a girl from Amity eight years ago and a child has been produced from the assault. I want to hear from you if this is true or not.”

Eric went on the defensive. “What proof do they have that it’s true?”

“Well, they want your DNA to conduct a paternity test for the child, for one. If it comes back positive, that weighs pretty heavily against you. And two, they’ve named two witnesses on her behalf, your friends Ralph and John.”

“Well, good luck getting Ralph to talk since he died jumping into the chasm three years ago and go ahead and ask John, he’ll tell you it’s not true.” Eric said and Max scowled even more.

“I already did and he told me otherwise. For a lighter sentence, he confessed to being on the train that night and that he and Ralph told you to do it. He’ll be doing janitorial duties from now on and you’re out, Eric.”

“You can’t do that to me! I’m a leader!” Eric was outraged.

“Yes, I can. With his witness testimony and the possible DNA test, we have more than enough to convict you.” Max replied.

“Factionless just because of a little crime done eight years ago?”

“It doesn’t matter when it happened. The people of this city rely on us to enforce the law and how can they trust us to do our jobs if we don’t follow the law ourselves? Someone will escort you to Amity, apparently they want to do the sentencing, which is fine by me. Good luck, Eric.” Max said and made a gesture to someone behind Eric.

A guard that he hadn’t notice before cuffed his hands behind his back and ushered him to the car waiting outside the Dauntless headquarters.


	4. Chapter 4

An hour after his meeting with Max, Eric was escorted into Joanna’s office and sat down in the chair beside Olivia.

_Great_ , he thought, _now she was going to rub her revenge in his face_.

Joanna turned to him. “Hello, Eric. I can’t say I’m happy to see you, under the circumstances, but here we are. I believe you know why you’re here.” She said.

Eric gestured to the girl beside him, “Because she couldn’t keep her mouth shut.”

Olivia gaped at him. “It was your own fault, you asshole! If you hadn’t bothered me yesterday then none of this would be happening.”

“Oh and how’s that?” He asked disbelieving.

“When I got home my mother was suspicious as to why a Dauntless leader wanted to talk to me and when I told her who you were, Connor over heard and he came to Joanna asking if she would help him see you, because he knew I wouldn’t. Joanna, suspecting that you are his father, assumed that you were the one who raped me. I couldn’t deny it when she asked me.” Olivia answered.

Eric was angry, but hearing the kid wanted to see him lessened his anger. What was he going to do? He couldn’t deny it happened now. They already had enough evidence to screw him so he might as well confess. What else could they do to him anyway? He was already doomed to be factionless.

“Fine, I admit it. I attacked her that night on the train because my friends wanted me to, I regret it but it happened, and I’m even sorrier for getting a kid involved in all this.” He said, resigned to his fate. Beside him Olivia looked surprised and Joanna pursed her lips in thought.

“Alright, give us a sample of your DNA so we can confirm Connor’s parentage and we can move onto the sentencing.” Joanna said and gestured for someone to come over and swab the inside of Eric’s cheek.  
***

  
Late that afternoon, Olivia sat in the audience of the large, paneled room with the rest of the adults of the Amity community. Eric was standing against the wall behind Joanna as she addressed the people gathered around her.

“Many of you may remember the day that Olivia Spence came home after being attacked on the train eight years ago, an event that left her with a son, and no idea as to whom the father was. We couldn’t bring him to justice back then but today he has surfaced and confessed to the crime.”

She gestured to the man behind her. “Eric’s DNA has come back as a positive match with Connor’s. His position as leader with the Dauntless has been revoked and his membership terminated, but because he assaulted a member of our community, we have the privilege to punish him.”

Murmurs as people discussed this surprising news was hushed by Joanna, “Let me make a suggestion before we come to a conclusion.” When they quieted down she continued, “As you know the best thing for a child is to have both parents raise them and Connor has never known his father, but he shows great interest in getting the chance to. I propose that we allow Eric to stay here in Amity, as a guest, so he could help Olivia raise their son.”

Quiet protests began as people did not like the idea, but Joanna held her hands up to silence them again. “Let me finish, please. I do not suggest that we let him off Scott free and roam around the community. If we all agree to what I recommend then I guarantee he will be with someone at all times and he will work to earn his place here among us. There are many jobs that many of us wish we did not have to do, like shoveling out the animal’s stalls or carrying large items around the compound. Eric is strong; we could use him for our own purposes.”

“But he’s a rapist. What if he does it again?” A man by the name of Ben stood up in the middle of the room.

“I believe Eric is remorseful of his actions and would not commit them again, but I do urge everyone to remain diligent and not let their daughters be alone around him. As I said, he will be escorted everywhere he goes, to work, to the bathroom, any of the Amity buildings and at home.” Joanna reassured the angry crowd.

“Where will he live?” Ben asked again, still standing.

“Olivia has agreed to allow him to stay with her and her family as long as he follows the rules. We are a faction about peace, kindness and forgiveness. If his accuser can forgive him, then the rest of us should try too.”

Olivia clenched her jaw as the people around her turn to look at her in astonishment. She did not want to be viewed as a victim and forgiving Eric would show that she wasn’t. Of course she didn’t like it, but it would be good for Connor to have his father around, before he ran away to find him, whether it be in Dauntless or with the Factionless.

The crowd began their quiet discussions and it took a full two hours for everyone to agree on a decision, but in the end they chose to grant Eric permission to stay in Amity. Then the plates of peace bread began to be passed around as people took a piece and chewed to calm their frayed emotions.

Olivia passed the plate to her neighbour without taking a piece and rose with the others to join Eric and Joanna. She was to escort him home with her. When she reached them, Joanna hugged her.

“I’m sorry for what has happened to you and the journey that now lies ahead of you, but you are brave and kind for doing this and I thank you.” Joanna whispered into her ear during their embrace.

When they broke apart, they gave each other a small smile, and a nod as farewell, and Eric followed her home.  
***

  
Eric was surprised at the outcome of his trial and he contemplated what life would be like with the Amity as he walked behind Olivia towards his new home.

He would be thrown into the role of a father with no preparation and the job of a farmer. He had no idea how to do either, and it frightened him, though he didn’t show it.

The house she brought him too was a quaint cottage type dwelling, made entirely of unpainted wood and no decoration on the outside, save the potted flower beds along the windowsills.

The inside was similar to the outside, unpainted wood walls and flooring, the windows had simple white curtains and a large fireplace stood against a far wall in the living room, giving off heat in the cooling evening air. All the furniture was a polished wood that gleamed in the firelight, except for the couch. It was a plush, floral print that would only fit two people on it at a time as it faced the fireplace.

The dining table was directly behind the couch with little space in between. It had four chairs around the rectangle table, and the kitchen was just behind that, allowing a good view of the whole room while you cooked.

To someone as big as Eric, it felt small and cramped, but he supposed to them it was cozy. The firelight gave the room a golden glow that bounced shadows off of everything, including the two people who stood in the hallway, staring at them.

“What’s this, Olivia?” The woman asked her, gesturing toward him. _She must have stayed home with the boy during the meeting_ , Eric thought.

“He’s living with us now, mom. Everyone agreed that his punishment should be to stay here and raise Connor and work in the fields.” Olivia replied, unhappily.

“Really?! I get to have a dad now?!” The boy bounced underneath the hands that rested on his shoulders, unaware of his mother’s displeasure.

“Yes… Connor, this is Eric, your father. Eric, this is Connor.” She introduced them.

The boy ran over and hugged him around the hips, his head rested against his stomach. Eric slowly hugged the boy back, unsure if he should, but neither woman stopped him.

When Connor let him go, Olivia suggested he get the extra blanket and pillow out of the closet for him. As soon as he was gone, she rounded on Eric.

“Listen up. This is how it’s going to work. You sleep on the couch, we eat breakfast in the morning and we take you to work. We bring you home, we eat dinner and you go to bed. There will be no socializing outside of this house. As for Connor, he wants to get to know you so I encourage you to act like a father towards him, but don’t you dare think you are worthy to be his dad.” She said to him sternly.

Eric was going to retort how he didn’t want to be there anymore than she wanted him but at that moment Connor came back in and put the blanket and pillow on the top of the couch. Olivia gave him a look and left him standing there to join her mother in the kitchen. As they began to make dinner, Eric sat down on the couch and Connor followed him. The boy looked up at him with excitement.

“What’s it like in Dauntless?” He asked.

Eric had no experience with kids, as he was the youngest son of three in his family and he transferred to Dauntless before his older brothers could give him nieces or nephews. He knew from the glare that was sent his way that Dauntless was a topic left undiscussed in his new home, and not wanting to make his day any worse, he decided to change the subject.

“How about I get to know you instead?” He was surprised by the large grin this brought upon the kid’s face.

“Okay! My favorite colour is red, I love apples, but I hate green beans, and I like to read. Climbing trees if my favorite hobby, and my best friends are Ned, and Michael.”

Eric listened quietly and only half interested in the rest of Connor’s list of likes and dislikes until dinner was ready. Connor rushed over to the table and pulled out a chair for Eric to sit in next to him, as his grandmother sat across from Eric and Olivia beside her.

The food was passed around silently and Eric piled as much onto his plate as possible. It took him a moment to realize that all the dishes were empty by the time he was done and everyone stared at him in wonderment.

“We’re not used to having such a large man eat with us, we’ll have to remember to make more next time.” Linda said.

Eric felt guilty, which was new for him. If he was back in Dauntless, he would tell them to suck it up, but he wasn’t and Amity manners were a mystery to him. Yelling or being rude to these people would not help his cause, so he kept his mouth shut and ate his dinner.  
***

  
Olivia watched Eric out of the corner of her eye as they ate. His broad frame took up most of the space on his side of the table and she was glad he sat next to Connor. She didn’t think she could bear to be that close to him right then.

The resemblance between them was startling to see it so close up. Other than the tattoos, which she only now noticed the new segmented bars running down his neck, she knew that when Connor grew up, he would almost be an identical twin to his father. Anger burned inside her at the thought that her son could grow up to be like Eric, but she held it in at the sight of how happy Connor was.

When everyone was finished eating, Linda collected the dishes so Olivia could read Connor a book before he went to bed, as was their nightly ritual. She sat down in the rocking chair next to the fireplace and waited for Connor to choose his book and climb into her lap.

Eric sat back down on the couch and stared into the fire, deep in thought. She didn’t know if he usually was this quiet or not, and then realized she didn’t actually know anything about him personally. Was he a mean person on a daily basis? Was he really nice and just chose to do a bad thing because he was drunk? No, she refused to think he had a nice bone in his body. A good man wouldn’t do what he did to her for any reason.

Connor shoving the book into her hands brought her out of her thoughts and she allowed him to sit on her lap and relax against her. She rested her chin on his soft blond hair as she read the book to him in soft hushed tones until he fell asleep. Then she cradled him in her arms and eased her way out of the chair and took him to bed.  
***

  
Eric watched the mother and son cuddle up with the book and wished he was back in Dauntless. Was this what he was supposed to do from now on? Sit around and play happy, day after day? He already missed the freedom to go to the gym and punch a bag around until he worked out his anger, but here they didn’t have gyms, he wasn’t even allowed outside on his own. The thought of bottling up his anger tormented him.

He must have been too busy with his thoughts because he didn’t notice Olivia getting up to put Connor to bed or Linda leaving too, until Olivia came back and stood before him with her hands on her hips.

He looked up at her and said, “What?”

Olivia rolled her eyes. “I bet you didn’t hear a single thing I said. We’re heading to bed, you might want to too. Breakfast is ready at 6 am, Connor leaves for school and we go to work at 7 am. If you want to shower before breakfast, the bathroom is the first door on the right and there are towels hanging up. And don’t even think about coming into my room at night, I’ve got a lock.” She said and walked off.

Eric watched her go with a glare. “Like I would want to sleep with you again.” He mumbled to himself. He grabbed the pillow from the top of the couch roughly, and fluffed it before resting it against the arm rest. He laid back and pulled the blanket over him. Half of his legs hung over the other arm, so he turned onto his side and curled up.

Eric growled. This had to be a nightmare. There was no way he would be able to sleep on that couch, so he got up and took everything with him onto the floor. At least the plain brown rug beneath him gave him some relief from the hard floor.

He spent a good amount of time that night missing his nice, large, comfortable bed and pondering what was going on in Dauntless now that he was gone.


	5. Chapter 5

Olivia’s alarm clock went off at 5 am. Groggy eyed, she stumbled out of bed and silenced the alarm before heading to the bathroom for a shower.

She had stayed up later than she normally would have just thinking about the man that slept on her couch. She imagined what it would be like to have a man like him around. She already knew he would eat her out of house and home, but what else would change? Would he fix things around the house? She doubted it. He didn’t look like the handy type. Privacy would probably be an issue though, as she made sure to lock the bathroom door behind her.

Once she was done showering, she let her mother have her turn and got dressed in her room. She decided to wear one of her red dresses and tied her hair into a loose bun, then went to start breakfast.

As she entered the main room, she heard snoring and peeked over the side of the couch to find that Eric was not asleep on it. Going around she found him sound asleep on the floor, the blanket wrapped around one leg as the other protruded from underneath it, and his left arm rested underneath his head and pillow as his right hand rested on his chest, thankfully still clothed in his Dauntless uniform.

Not caring whether he woke up nicely or not, she proceeded to make as much noise as she could while making breakfast and the sound of the frying pan hitting the stove top jerked him awake.

“Good morning, Sleeping Beauty. You might want to hop in the shower once Connor is done if you don’t want to miss breakfast.” She said as she scrambled the eggs.

She smirked to herself when he bleary eyed made his way to the bathroom, and cursed as he tripped over a dining chair. Her day was looking up already.

Five minutes later her mother and son showed themselves and helped her set the table. They were putting food onto their plates when Eric made an appearance and sat down. He had a day’s growth along his jaw and his hair was damp and curly.

“What happened to your hair?” She asked him, casually.

“They didn’t exactly let me pack my things before kicking me out. This is what it looks like without my hair gel.” He said as he piled food onto his plate, avoiding her gaze.

“It’s just like my hair, mom!” Connor smiled, proud to have something in common with his father, obviously not realizing how much more he shared with him already.

Olivia gave her son a polite smile and listened as her mother asked Eric a question.

“How did you sleep last night? I know you’re quite a bit bigger than our couch, but I hope it did the job.”

“I slept on the floor, actually.” He said, and then took a bit of his eggs.

Linda looked ashamed at their hospitality and said to Olivia, “Maybe he can move into my room, and you and I could share?”

“What? No. He doesn’t deserve a bed, remember?” She got mad at her mother for mentioning it in front of him and Connor. She looked at Eric and found him staring at her intently.

“No, it’s fine Ms. Spence. I can handle the floor just fine.” He said without breaking eye contact.

“Why can’t he sleep in a bed?” Connor asked, looking between the three of them, confused.

“We don’t have enough beds for everyone sweetheart, and Grandma and I can’t share because she hits people when she sleeps.” Olivia ignored the glare her mother gave her for the lie she just told.

“Oh… Why don’t you share with dad then? All my friend’s parents share a room.” He suggested.

She choked on her drink and glanced to see Eric smirking. “No, we can’t share either.”

“Why not?” Connor pouted.

“Because, Mom hits people when she sleeps too. You better hurry up or you’ll be late for your ride to school.” She said to change the subject.

Connor ate the last piece of bacon on his plate and got up to grab his school bag. Before he ran out the door, he kissed his mother and grandmother on the cheek and caught Eric off guard as he quickly hugged him good-bye.  
***

  
Eric recovered from the surprise contact and chuckled to himself as the ladies argued. Kids sure know how to stir things up, he thought.

“Why did you just lie to your son like that?” Linda asked.

“I had to give him a reason to explain why Eric is sleeping on the floor and that sounded reasonable enough. We don’t need to share rooms just to keep up appearances, mother. And we’re not here to make his punishment easier, either.” Olivia said harshly and quickly collected the dishes.

Olivia must have been the angriest Amity he had ever met and although he didn’t blame her, he sure didn’t want to live with it. He got up to leave for his work sentence when Olivia stopped him.

“You can’t leave yet, not without us and you’re not ready.” She rushed to another room and a couple of minutes later she came back with yellow clothing.

“Your black clothing will be too hot to work in. These were my father’s, and they probably won’t fit very well, but they’ll do until we can get you your own clothes.” She said.

“I thought you weren’t here to make my punishment easier.” He mocked her.

“I may not like you or want you here, but that doesn’t mean I’m trying to kill you.” She shoved the clothes into his chest and crossed her arms, waiting for him to get changed.

Maybe she still had a little bit of Amity left in her after all.

He went into the bathroom and took off his black uniform. It was heavily wrinkled from being slept in and smelt faintly of body odor. Just like his hair, his clothes now would be different compared to the Dauntless version of himself and he longed to go home.  
***

  
Olivia and Linda escorted Eric to his work detail in one of the corn fields that were being newly planted for the next harvest. There they met up with Paul, whom would be working with him that day and passed him off before heading over to the orchard for their own work.

The day was hot and Olivia was glad for the wide brimmed hat she wore to keep the sun off her. From her position on top of the ladder to help her pick apples, she could see Eric working.

His shirt sleeves were rolled up past his forearms and he wiped the sweat off his brow with the back of his hand as he pushed the plow through the mud while the horse pulled it. They had to dig up rows in the ground before they could plant the seeds and it was hard work, she knew, because her father used to do it when he was younger.

He would need to have a hot bath when he got home to ease his sore muscles and a massage, but no way was she giving him the latter. She might try and dig up her father’s old hat for him and his canteen though. Like she told him earlier, she wasn’t out to kill him and he would need these things to survive the heat.

As lunch time rolled around, she found herself watching her own mother approach him with food. It was one thing for someone to bring him food and water, but for her own mother to do so was like she was trying to anger Olivia by being nice to the man who hurt her. That was it. She wasn’t serving bread any more.  
***

  
Eric leaned heavily against the plow he was given to torture himself with and mopped his face with the sleeve of his shirt when he was informed it was time for lunch.

In the distance he could see Ms. Spence coming towards him. He watched as her short stature made its way through the mud, one hand on her hat to keep it from blowing off in the wind that started to pick up and the other holding a basket.

“My, what a muddy place this is. You’ll be filthy by the time you get home tonight.” She said as she got nearer.

Eric smiled at the older woman. He actually kind of liked her, because she reminded him of his grandmother.

“Oh, what a gorgeous smile you have. You better keep that in check if you don’t want all the girls to be fainting around you.” She bantered playfully. Eric laughed.

“I brought you some lunch, so you wouldn’t have to be gawked at in the cafeteria. Paul’s gone so I’ll stay and share with you.” She said and they both moved over to the grassy area at the edge of the field to sit down.

“Does Olivia know you’re here?” He asked.

Linda waved him off. “Of course she does, she’s probably watching us right now, angry as a viper that was stepped on.”

Eric grinned at her blatant defiance of her daughter’s wishes. He opened the basket and handed her one of the sandwiches and took one for himself. It tasted a bit funny when he took his first bite, but he was so hungry he finished it off quickly and grabbed another. A warm sensation spread through him and he felt relaxed.

“Is there peace serum in this?” He asked her, curious.

“Oh, yes I should have mentioned that. It’s in the bread. Everyone here eats it, to ensure peaceful feelings.” Linda explained.

“It doesn’t seem like Olivia’s been eating it lately.” He mentioned between bites.

“Don’t mind her. She’s just riled up because your appearance has turned things upside down with Connor. She’s afraid he will take a liking to you and then leave her behind to follow your footsteps. Not that all your footsteps have been good ones, so I can understand her fear. But you’re here now to prove to us that you’re a good man, for Connor’s sake and your own. Life can be good here, if you let it, or it can be bad. It all depends on you.”

“What if I’m not cut out to be good? I certainly wasn’t the best person to be around in Dauntless when it came to dealing with people. I oversaw the training of the initiates and in fact I was pretty harsh on them.” He looked at her, thinking she would see the true him.

“Why were you harsh to them?” She simply asked.

“They needed to be pushed into being tougher to survive there. If you couldn’t handle it that meant you could get killed.” He replied.

“That doesn’t sound like you were harsh just because you liked it. You tried to help them. Doesn’t sound like a bad guy to me.” She said.

“That doesn’t mean I belong here. I like to argue, I like to fight, and I like to do crazy things for the thrill of it. Doesn’t sound like something a guy in Amity usually does.”

Linda smiled. “Well, it’s a good thing you’re not actually a member of Amity then. You’ll get a bit more lenience when it comes to arguing, but the aggression will have to be put to better use, like plowing this field or building a fence. I hear you get to bang on a lot of stuff when you building something.” Her eyes twinkled with merriment.

“Sure, I can do that. I built my own bike, growing up. Not much use for that kind of skill in Dauntless, but in Erudite we learned all kinds of things.” Eric said chewing on the apple he started on when he finished both sandwiches.

“Erudite! I can say I did not see that coming. You strike me as a born Dauntless, but I guess if you transferred that means you didn’t belong there anyway.” She said.

“No, I hated studying. I made that bike so I could skip class and practice tricks on it in an empty alley. But like all Erudite parents, they forced me to learn new things. I don’t think they were surprised when I defected.” He frowned as he stared out over the field.

“Well, you made a new home for yourself once maybe you can do it again. But I better get back to work and so should you, because here comes Paul.” She patted his knee before getting up and heading off with her empty basket of goodies.


	6. Chapter 6

Olivia and her mother picked Eric up from the corn field, and found him drenched in sweat, and his fair skin sun burned where his clothing did not cover. They could tell he was exhausted as he lumbered behind them on their way home.

The sun was low in the sky by the time they reached their cottage and Connor was already inside, working on his homework.

“I’m going to start dinner, if you want to take care of him.” Linda said before Olivia could say the same thing to her.

Not wanting to be left alone with the man she said, “What about Connor’s homework. I should help with that first.”

“Don’t worry about it. I’m sure I can help him at the same time. Now go, before he passes out standing up.” Linda nodded at Eric who leaned against the wall, his eyes fighting to stay open.

“Fine, come on Eric. I’ll start the bath for you.”

She went to the bathroom and turned on the tap. She hadn’t noticed that he was standing directly behind her until she stood up and bumped into him. He grabbed her shoulders to steady her when she jerked away and nearly fell into the tub.

“I… I’ll be right back with a fresh towel.” She stuttered and he let her go.

Olivia hid behind her closed bedroom door and had a mini freak out. A couple of minutes later she breathed in deeply to calm herself down.

“You’re ok, Olivia. He didn’t hurt you and you’ve been alone with him before in the greenhouse... Except this time he touched me… Don’t freak out. You can’t let other people see how much he affects you.” She said to herself. The bath was probably full by that time so she collected herself, grabbed a towel and went back to the bathroom.

She must have been too deep in thought to realize the water was no longer running, because when she entered she found Eric already sitting in the bath with his head resting against the wall.

His bare chest and shoulders were above the waterline and because he was so tall, his knees also peeked out while everything else was submerged. His eyes were closed and he didn’t react to her coming in so she thought maybe he hadn’t noticed and gently placed the towel down on the toilet seat and backed out quietly. While he bathed, she went back to the kitchen to help with dinner.

“So, I noticed you had lunch with Eric today.” She said to her mother as she cut up carrots.

“Did you?” Linda replied, not giving away that she already assumed she had.

“Yes, and I want to know why you’re being nice to him?” She stopped and glared at her.

“I’ll have you know that I am an adult and can be nice to whomever I want to. Also, I had a nice conversation with him today and he doesn’t seem so bad. Maybe you should give him a chance. He might surprise you.” Linda said.

Olivia was going to retort when Eric walked in with only a towel around his waist. The short curly blond hair that dusted his chest and the six pack abs he had was certain to give every girl he met wet dreams. She hadn’t seen him half naked eight years ago but today she was sure he was probably twice as good looking now as he was then.

He cleared his throat and said, “I need more clothes.”

Olivia mentally smacked herself. She was so flustered when he touched her that she totally forgot to get him fresh clothing when she got his towel.

“Of course, dear!” Her mother said and hurried off to fetch him some.  
***

Eric followed Linda to her bedroom. The small room had a double sized bed with a pink floral bedspread and a simple dresser with a few nick knacks on top. She was riffling through a box in the closet when he came in.

“Here you go. I promise, tomorrow we’ll get you clothes that fit. After dinner I will go ask Joanna to have some delivered first thing in the morning, but for now I’ll let you get dressed.” And she closed the door behind her to give him some privacy.

He was extremely tired and sore, he hadn’t felt this bad since his initiation into Dauntless and the bed behind him begged him to lie down. With what little energy he had left, he got dressed and joined the others for dinner.

The only conversation at dinner was Linda asking Connor how his school day was. Eric was too tired to pay attention to what they were saying and he noticed that Olivia avoided looking at him. He knew his touch had bothered her, from the way she rushed out, but he had done it instinctively so she wouldn’t hurt herself. He hoped she knew that.

Before he knew it, dinner finished and Linda rushed out the door with Connor in tow, because he refused to be left behind, and he was left alone with Olivia who was washing the dishes.

Eric stumbled over to the couch in his exhaustion and leaned heavily into the cushion. He was falling asleep when a voice woke him up.

“We better take care of that sun burn before you fall asleep.” Olivia said with a bottle in her hand.

Heavy-lidded, he straightened up and mumbled, “Sure.”

“Here’s the ointment.” He heard her say, but when he didn’t make a move to take the bottle he felt fingers smearing something cool against his skin.

Eric forced his eyes open and found her sitting on a chair in front of him, rubbing the ointment on his arms where it was red. He watched her for a while, taking in her tanned skin and the auburn curls that framed her pretty face. It was so long that one tendril even fell over her shoulder and caressed his hand. The feeling of her massaging his arm muscles relaxed him and the last thing he remembered was absentmindedly playing with her hair.  
***

Olivia moved from his arms to his face and realized that he fell asleep. Trying to ignore the uneasy feeling of being near him, she rubbed the cream over his broad forehead and down his long nose, then across his cheeks and chin and down his neck. His skin was hot to the touch, but it was smooth and velvety with the soft curls that adorned his arms.

When she was done, she wedged his pillow behind his head and covered him with the blanket. It would have to do because he was too heavy for her to move on her own.

Her mother and son came in just as she was finishing tucking him in and she gestured for them to be quiet as they all headed for bed.


	7. Chapter 7

Eric woke up on the couch to a dark and quiet house. His neck and back were stiff from the sitting position he slept in all night, but he felt rested, which is why he woke up before anyone else had.

He stood up and stretched out his sore muscles. The clock on the wall said it was 4:16 am and he decided to get a glass of water then have his shower early.

The water was warm against his back and he stood there, letting it pound on his sore muscles. The sound of the door opening brought his attention to the shadow that crossed over to him.

“Dad?” Came Connor’s voice.

He still wasn’t used to having someone call him that, but he repressed his cringe at the title and answered. “Yeah, it’s me. Aren’t you up a little early?”

“I heard the shower and wanted to ask you something.” Connor replied.

“What if I was your mom or grandma?” Eric peeked from behind the curtain. Connor was in his wrinkled, solid a blue pajamas and his hair looked like a bird had turned it into a nest.

“They never get up before 5 am, so I knew it was you.” He said and then paused. “Can I work with you today? Plowing a field sounds like more fun than picking berries.”

“Don’t you have school?” Eric asked confused.

“No, it’s Saturday. I usually help my mom in the orchard but I thought maybe you might want my help.”

Eric hesitated with his answer. Plowing was not fun and he wasn’t sure if Olivia would allow him to, but having company would be nice so he said, “Its ok with me, _if_ it’s ok with your mom first.”

Connor beamed. “I’ll ask her!” He jumped up and bounded from the room, leaving the door wide open.

From the shower he could hear the boy barge into his mother’s room and begin begging her to let him spend the day with his father. He got the distinct feeling that the rude awakening was going to be his fault instead of Connor’s. Sure enough he heard Olivia approach.

“Why are you showering with the door open?” She sounded cranky.

“I wasn’t. Connor left it open in his excitement to talk to you.” He replied and scrubbed himself as quickly as he could.

“So, you did tell him that he could work with you today?” She sounded annoyed.

“He came in here asking me if he could and I said it was ok if you said it was. I didn’t even realize it was Saturday.” He defended himself.

When she didn’t say anything back, he opened the curtain a small portion and looked out. She stood there staring at him with a pensive look and her arms crossed.  
***

  
“Fine, he can go with you, but you better not let him get hurt.” She pointed at him to emphasize her sincerity.

The look in his eyes when he watched her try to threaten him said that he didn’t think much of the threats and he snapped the curtain shut, leaving her there to point at nothing.

Olivia narrowed her eyes at the spot his face used to occupy and left to start the coffee pot.

Connor was sitting on the couch playing with his action figures when she entered the living room. She decided the coffee could wait for a bit and went over and hugged him from behind.

“It’s ok with me if you want to work with Eric today. Be careful though, I don’t want to find out that you got hurt or into trouble. You hear me? And Paul’s the one in charge so you better do everything he says.” She said from her position against his shoulder and the movement of him nodding caused her chin to bobble.

“Good. Now how do pancakes sound for breakfast?” She said releasing him and going back to her original goal of starting the coffee pot.

His eager response brought a smile to her face and she hummed while she gathered the ingredients for the pancakes.

The sound of Connor excitedly announcing to Eric that she gave him permission to help him caught her attention and she saw Eric looking down at their son with an amused expression as they came to sit down at the table.

He was wearing the new clothes her mother brought home with her last night and they fit his broad frame much better than her father’s old clothes did. If they hadn’t gotten them soon, she was worried she would to have had to let a few of her dad’s shirts out and she wasn’t much of a seamstress.

Olivia went back to what she was doing as Connor happily chatted to Eric, who quietly listened and by the time she was finished making breakfast, her mother and Connor both had their own showers and were ready for the day.

After they finished up breakfast, her mother said she would clean up so Olivia could have time for a quick shower before they needed to leave, and as she left the room she heard Eric offer to help Linda.

Taken aback by this, she spied around the corner and watched as Eric gathered the plates from the table and brought them over to the sink where Linda was filling it with soapy water. He then proceeded to dry off the dishes she had washed and put them away on her direction.

_He’s only been here for two days and my mother already has him trained? What kind of sorcery is this?_ She thought to herself before finally turning to have her shower.  
***

  
Eric helped guide Connor through the mud with the plow. His tiny 8 year old muscles could barely budge the large piece of equipment on his own, even with the horse pulling it from the front, but together it pushed its way forward and cut a line through the mud like a knife through butter. He didn’t know if it was Connor’s help that made it seem easier that day or if the ground was just softer.

They both panted as sweat ran down their faces when they took a break for lunch. Connor dropped exaggeratedly to the grass where Eric and Linda had lunch the day before, and Eric sat down next to him, pulling out the canteen Olivia had scrounged up for him.

He passed the container to Connor after he took a long sip and watched as the boy nearly drank it dry.

“Hey, save some for later.” He said, taking the bottle back and twisting the cap back on.

“Can you die from pushing too hard?” Connor asked from his spot on the ground.

Eric chuckled. “I think you’ll be ok.” He looked behind him at the orchard and saw a few people sitting under the trees to eat their lunches in the shade. “You can always go back to your mom, if it’s too much for you.” He teased.

“No way! This is man’s work and I’m a man, just like you.” He said sitting up.

Eric ruffled Connor’s hair. “You’ve got heart, kid.” Connor smiled at the praise.

Just like yesterday, Linda came bearing a basket with food for the three of them to share and she sat down next to them. Her wide brim hat created just enough shade for Eric’s right arm to hide in from the sun.

“How is it going?” She asked. “Is Connor doing a good job?”

“I couldn’t ask for a better helper.” Eric replied smiling at the boy who grinned at his grandmother with his cheeks puffed out, full of food.

“Don’t forget to chew before swallowing all that food, Connor.” Linda scolded him, half-heartedly.

Connor chewed quickly and swallowed before saying, “I know grandma. I’m just SO HUNGRY! Did you bring any dessert? Because I might need two servings today, too keep up my energy, and all.”

They both laughed at his antics. “Of course, I did. Chocolate chip cookies and you may have two, if your belly can fit them in.” She said.

Lunch finished and so did the day when they all arrived back at the house. Connor practically crawled to his bed, citing he was too tired for dinner and wanted to go to sleep early.

Eric watched him go and felt a smile tug on his lips as he thought back on the day. The kid worked really hard and yet kept his spirits up through the heat and strain, and in doing so kept Eric from being drained like the day before.

He was starting to like having a son, but the memory of his own wild youth kept him anticipating, with fear, those bad days that were surely to come. Disciplining a child was not the same as an initiate and he wasn’t sure he would be prepared for such an event. Hopefully with luck, Olivia would be the one to do it. _She must’ve had plenty of practice by now_ , he thought.

“Would you like some help with dinner?” He asked Olivia who was pulling things out of the fridge.

At his question she stood up and looked at him suspiciously. “Why? Do you think by helping out that you’ll get better treatment or something?”

Why was she being so difficult? Today’s experience with Connor made him realize that help made a job easier and more enjoyable, compared to doing it on your own. Besides, it was part of his sentencing to help her, not for them to do everything for him. They had already fed him two days in a row, gave him clothing and fixed him up after a hard day outside. He didn’t like being waited upon, he was used to doing stuff and he wanted to do his part.

“No. I’m forced to be here to help you so you might as well use me.” He said.

“Well, I would appreciate it if you kept your help to my mother and Connor. I don’t need you doing things for me that I have been doing myself for years.” She said.

He rolled his eyes at her and went outside, where he growled his frustration as soon as the door closed behind him.

“Is Olivia getting on your nerves?” Linda asked from her flower bed with a small smile playing at her lips.

“You’ve noticed?” He asked sarcastically, sweeping a fallen branch off to the side with his foot.

“Well, it’s bound to happen. You’ve got bad blood between you. Tension is high, so naturally arguments will occur.” She replied, still looking down at her roses.

“How am I supposed to fix what happened so we can move on?” He asked, angry and confused.

“You can’t, what happened, happened. Nothing will change that.” Linda said sadly.

“Great…” He mumbled, looking up at the dark sky.

“Can she trust you? Can Connor and I?” She asked after a moment’s hesitation.

He looked at her thoughtfully. “If you mean, will I hurt you physically, then no, I won’t.”

“I mean, will you allow yourself to be a part of this family or will you betray us at the first chance you get? Can Olivia entrust you with our emotional lives? She won’t want you around as long as she thinks you’ll take off as soon as Connor loves you and leave him heartbroken.” Linda stood up, watching him take in her words.

Could he do that? Could he be satisfied here for the rest of his life, having the love of a son and the acceptance of a new family? If Dauntless asked him back, would he be able to decline the chance to return to his old life? Right now, he would say no. He was only beginning to get to know this new family, and even though he liked them, well most of them, he didn’t love them yet.

“I can’t promise something like that right now.” He replied.

“I appreciate the honesty, Eric.” She patted his arm. “Think on it and if you decide it’s something you can promise then know all you have to do is show her that she can trust you.” She added before entering the house.

Eric leaned against the wall and rubbed his face with his hands in frustration. A throat clearing got his attention and he found a man standing in front of him.

He was shorter than Eric was, probably around the same height as Olivia, with short mousy brown hair, hazel eyes and a lanky build. Eric didn’t recognize him.

“You must be Eric. My name is Jacob Willemsen. Would Olivia be in tonight?” He asked, offering his hand in greeting.

Eric just looked at his hand, without returning the gesture he opened the door and called inside, “Olivia, there’s someone here to see you.”

When she arrived at the door, she smiled at the visitor and then gave Eric a look to get lost. Put out, he went back into the house.  
***  
“It’s nice to see you, Jacob!” She smiled at him when Eric left.

“Yes, I’m sorry I haven’t come by sooner but work has kept me busy. I just wanted to come by and check in on you and Connor, now that you have a _guest_ staying with you.” He said, implying that he was worried about their safety.

“Your visits are always welcome. We’re just about to eat dinner, would you like to join us? Connor’s already gone to bed, it was a busy day for him, so there’s an empty plate at the table.” She invited him.

“I would love to.” He said and allowed her to go in first. Olivia wasn’t sure if he was just being a gentleman or if it was part of his Abnegation upbringing. She took it as the former and entered the house.

“Jacob will be joining us for dinner.” She announced to the others and grabbed an extra plate out of the cupboard for him. She placed it in the empty seat next to Eric and sat down in the chair across from Jacob as he sat down too.

“How have you been, Jacob?” Linda asked him politely.

“I’ve been well, Linda. Work around the compound has kept me very busy lately, fixing this and that. Joanna likes to keep this place in top shape.” He smiled.

“So, you’re a janitor?” Eric asked, not really hiding his mocking tone.

“I like to call myself a caretaker.” Jacob replied, politely.

“Usually the weak take the jobs no one else wants.” Eric said.

“Someone has to do it.” Jacob replied.

“You’re a transfer aren’t you? I bet from Abnegation.” Eric sneered.

“That’s enough, Eric. Everyone here in Amity is a valued member and all jobs are considered essential to our survival.” Olivia interjected.

“Are you two seeing each other?” Eric waved his fork between the two of them.

“No.” She replied, unsure what to say, because she did want Jacob to ask her out.

“Well, he must want to for him to show up here to check up on you when no one else has come by.” Eric replied.

Olivia was about to get mad at him when Jacob held his hand up to stop her. “It’s ok, Olivia. He’s right. I have been meaning to ask you out on a date, but I find myself unable to get the words out when we’re together. So, I thank you Eric for helping me to get it out.” Jacob turned to Olivia. “Would you like to have dinner with me tomorrow night?”

She smiled and replied, “I would love to.”

The rest of the meal was pleasant, as long as Eric kept his mouth shut, and Jacob helped Olivia do the dishes at the end. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Eric watching them from the couch with an unhappy look.

Then Jacob took his leave for the night and she walked him out. “Thank you for coming by, Jacob. I’m sorry for Eric.” She said when they were safely outside.

“It’s not your fault you got stuck with a brute of a man. I just wish for your sake that you don’t have to relive that horrible event each day when you have to see him. You can always accuse him and have him out of your life, if you want to. I for one would be relieved to see him go.” He said.

“I wish I could, but I can’t do that to Connor. He would be devastated.” She replied.

“I understand. Well, good night and I look forward to tomorrow.” He gave her a smile and left.

When she re-entered the house, Eric was still sitting on the couch.

“I don’t like him.” He simply stated.

That pissed her off. “So, I’m not allowed to date someone because _you_ don’t like them? Not many men want to be with a single mother, you know, especially with you’re here now. Just look at you, tattoos, piercings and the mere size of you scares people. It took courage for him to show up here!”

  
“Don’t I get a say in who gets to raise my son?” He didn’t back down.

“NO! I’ve been waiting a year for him to ask me out and if you ruin this for me, then I will have you kicked out of Amity to roam the streets as the factionless, got it?” She said and stormed off.


	8. Chapter 8

It was Monday and Olivia was thankful that the day before was over. She had convinced Connor to help her in the orchard instead of going with Eric, because she knew he was exhausted and probably wouldn’t be able to handle another day of plowing, and he was miserable for it.

He constantly asked her to see what Eric was up to and if she thought he needed his help. She always looked over to make him happy and would see Eric working hard, but would reassure Connor that Eric was doing fine without him.

Connor would pout and go back to what he was doing, until he would ask again thirty minutes later.

She found it maddening and was grateful when she was able to leave him with her mother while she had dinner at Jacob’s home.

Dinner on the other hand was another story. It was quiet for the most part, except for the times when they managed to engage in polite conversation.

Olivia wanted to ask him things about himself and get to know him, but he always redirected the conversation to his work or her life while avoiding the topic of Eric.

It was exhausting trying to get him to talk, but when he asked her to see him again, she hoped it was only nerves that kept him from opening up and said yes, in hopes that he wouldn’t be so boring next time.

When she got home, Eric was still awake; reading a book. He had asked her how it went and not wanting him to know the truth she lied and said it was fantastic.

Today Connor was back in school and she was informed this morning, by Paul, that Eric was nearly done plowing and would begin planting the seeds the next day. Then he would move onto another project.

She was sure they would send him to sheer the sheep. Even though it didn’t hurt, no one liked to scare the animals and would gladly hand the task off. For someone like Eric, who came from Dauntless, it would probably be a breeze.

The day quickly came to an end and they were gathered around the table for dinner.

“How was school, Connor?” Olivia asked her son.

Connor pushed his peas around his plate and didn’t look up. “It was fine.”

“What’s the matter, hunny?” She grew concerned. He was usually happy to talk about his day at school.

“Nothing, just some older kids were bugging me.” He sighed.

“Who did? What did they say?” She pressed.

“They were from Dauntless, they heard about dad and said a bunch of stuff that I didn’t understand. What does rape mean?” He asked.

Olivia froze. She never expected Connor to be effected by it at school, but it made sense. He went to school with kids from other factions and of course the Dauntless ones would find out why one of their leaders was kicked out. She silently cursed to herself.

Eric didn’t appear happy either when she looked at him. This was his fault, not just for the rape, but for forcing himself into their lives when he could have ignored them and went home that night they came for Amity’s permission on the border guards.

She couldn’t contain her anger towards him anymore and blurted out, without thinking, “It’s a bad thing that your dad did and it’s his fault that those kids are bothering you.”  
***

Eric’s rage built up so much that it exploded.

“I’ve had enough of you constantly reminding me of what a bad guy I am and what a horrible thing I did! Yes, it was bad and I’m sorry! Can we please, get over it now?!” He shouted. His knuckles white from gripping his fork tightly.

“I will not get over it! EVER! And that was fine until Connor was brought into it!” Olivia said back, failing to keep her voice neutral.

Linda quietly took Connor’s hand and asked him to talk a walk with her while his parents talked. He nodded and followed her outside, silently.

“What do you want me to say? If sorry isn’t enough, then what? You want to hear that it tormented me knowing that there was a girl out here traumatized by what I did to her? That I was 17, young and too ambitious to realize what kind of effect it was going to have until it was already done? I didn’t even want to do it in the first place, but those two idiots would have done worse and I thought it would be better for me to do it.” Eric ranted, standing up from his chair. Olivia did the same.

“How could they have done anything worse than what you did?” She asked, disbelieving.

“They would have beaten you, probably until you lost consciousness, ripped your clothes off and had their way with you and not in a gentle way, I promise you. They would have left you there naked and unmoving until someone found you like that. Would you have preferred that?” He said.

Olivia was quietly staring at him. Eric couldn’t read the expression on her features and was unsure of what would happen next. Suddenly she sat down on her chair and began crying.

His anger was immediately replaced by uncertainty. He was making a mess of everything and he didn’t know what to do. Eric wondered if he should comfort her, but thought against it at the memory of her running away from his touch before and he had no idea what to say to make her feel better, so he stood there like an idiot until the others came back.

Linda, finding them as they were, quickly rushed over to Olivia and ushered her to her bedroom, with a questioning look directed at Eric. He remained impassive as they left.

It took him a moment to realize that Connor was still in the room with him. 

He kneeled down in front of him and said, “If those kids bother you again, let me know and I’ll show you how to take care of bullies, ok?”

Connor nodded and Eric said at his sad expression, “I promise, tomorrow will be a better day.” He ruffled the boys’ hair and added, “Let’s get you ready for bed.”

He helped him get changed into his pajamas and tucked him in before leaving to put away the forgotten dinner that still sat on the table, uneaten.  
***

Olivia sat down on her bed, sobbing against her mother’s shoulder.

When Eric had said those things, she didn’t want to hear it until he mentioned his friends. Then the realization hit that what he had said sounded like the truth.

She remembered them telling Eric she needed to be punished, punished for just being on the train at the same time as them. As he described the despicable things they would have done, she imagined it happening, and she knew then that she was lucky it was him. Olivia cried at the thought of what could have happened to her; what did happen and what would happen to her future because of that one act.

Life was unfair.

When she calmed down, she fell back onto the bed she was sitting on and wanted to sleep for a hundred years.

“Did Eric hurt you?” Linda asked softly, now that she had stopped crying.

Olivia shook her head. “No. He just made a valid point and brought back some bad memories.” She said and threw her arm over her eyes.

“Well, I know it might not be the best time to bring this up, but for Connor’s sake, I will.” She paused a minute before continuing. “When we left so you two could argue, he asked me why his parents hate each other. It broke my heart to hear that, because his whole life he’s wanted nothing more than to have both parents around like his friends do. He doesn’t know what the situation is and I know you may never love each other, but I’m asking you to just be nice to each other.” Linda pleaded.

Olivia frowned. She hadn’t realized that they were fighting in front of him so much. She didn’t want to upset Connor and because she may have been wrong to be so touchy with Eric in the first place, she agreed.

“Ok, mom, I’ll be nicer.” She replied and crawled under the covers.

“Thank you, sweetheart.” Linda leaned over and kissed her forehead. “Get a goodnight’s rest, ok.” And she quietly left to let Olivia fall asleep.  
***

In the morning, Eric was woken up by dishes rattling. Peering around the couch he found Olivia turning the coffee pot on, her hair still wet from the shower she had, loosely hanging down her back.

When she noticed him watching her, she politely said good morning and asked him what he would like for breakfast. He was expecting her to completely ignore him or be more of a bitch than usual, after the fight they had. He was stunned into silence when she greeted him with neither.

“I know you’re awake, I can see you looking at me. What do you want to eat?” Now there was the attitude he was looking for.

He sat up from his bed on the floor and said, “Anything is fine. I’m not a picky eater.”

He heard her mumble a reply and watched her grab the eggs out of the fridge. He got up and pulled out the frying pan from the cupboard to help her, this time without bothering to ask first, knowing she would refuse him if he did.

She didn’t say anything when he joined her, but he noticed that she did flinch a few times when he got too close.  
***

The kitchen area was too small, in Olivia’s opinion, to have them both in it. His large frame stood close to her, so close that she could feel the heat radiate off him. She didn’t say anything when he started helping her in effort to make peace, but she wished he hadn’t felt the need to do the same.

A few times he reached past her to get something and she recoiled involuntarily; Eric would have had to been blind to not notice, but he didn’t mention it. Instead they silently made breakfast together and she breathed a sigh of relief when he went to have his shower while she set the table.

Once everyone was ready, they sat down to eat.

Now that she was being nice to him, Olivia took the time to actually look at Eric. His hair was now full curls on top of his head and his unshaven face sported a beard that he kept short with the razor Paul gave him to use. He looked completely different than the guy that arrived days ago, and the only things left to tie him to his old faction were his tattoos and piercings.

As she gazed at him, she wondered if his tattoos had special meanings or if they were nonsense to scare people. If she had to guess, she’d pick the latter, but she didn’t really know him and sometimes people could surprise you, like he did last night by telling her his point of view from that night.

Olivia shoved those thoughts to the back of her mind and ate her breakfast. The conversation was minimal and it was soon time to start another day.


	9. Chapter 9

“Have a good day off.” Linda said to her, with a lingering look to remind her to be on her best behaviour.

Connor shouted good-bye from the door and Linda laughed as he dashed outside, pulling her with him. When Eric got up to leave with them, Olivia stopped him.

“Where are you going?” She asked, annoyed that she had to spend the day with him alone.

Eric turned with a confused look. “I’m going to work.”

“Not today. My mother and I are taking turns sharing a day off with you, and today is my turn.” She replied, busying herself with picking up Connor’s toys that were left in the living room.

“Oh… I didn’t think I was ‘allowed’ days off.” He said behind her.

With her hands full of action figures, she stood up and faced him. “I can’t promise it will be much of a day off, per say. There are a lot of chores that need to be done.”

“What kind of chores?” He asked, looking around the tidy house.

“Laundry first, so it has time to dry out in the sun, the bathroom needs a good scrubbing, sweeping the floors and washing the windows.” She listed off.

Olivia watched his face sour at her list of things to do. She furrowed her brow and asked, “You do know how to clean, right?”

“Yes, I know how to clean.” He mocked her. “Where’s your washing machine?” He asked.

“We don’t have one. We do it by hand.” She replied.

“You’ve got to be kidding me.” He grumbled.

“Nope, follow me.” She set the toys down on the couch and went outside.  
***

  
Eric followed her, with a sinking feeling, to an empty clothesline behind the house and watched her flip over two large metal tubs and filled one with soap and warm water from a tap that protruded from the wall.

When the tub was half full and bubbly, she filled the second tub with only water and got out this gadget that looked like a ribbed metal pan. Then she reached out for the basket he carried.

As he passed it to her, their fingers brushed and he watched her eyes close for the briefest moment. He decided then to make a conscious effort to touch her more often until she stopped acting like he was a dead rat.

She proceeded to dump the entire contents of the basket into the tub with soap and swished them around until they all became soaked with water.

“Alright, this is how we do laundry. You take this washboard and scrub the clothes with it, like so.” She sat down and demonstrated with a red shirt, pushing it back and forth along the board and dunking, before doing it over again. Then she wrung it out and dunked it a few times in the rinse water until the water ran clear from it and she wrung it again. He watched as she got up and hung the shirt on the line with what he guessed were wooden tweezers.

“Why don’t you get started scrubbing and I will hang them up.” She said when she finished.

He rolled his eyes and sank to his knees by the tub and began washing the clothes.  
***

  
Olivia began to relax in the mundane task of hanging clothes as a cool breeze gently rustled her red patterned dress and the clear sky allowed the sun to dry her hair into the natural curls she always had.

The sound of water sloshing in the background helped her to pretend she was relaxing by an ocean, listening to the waves, until Eric’s voice joined in the rhythm and took her out of her reverie.

“Are all of our days off going to be like this?” Eric asked from his position on the ground.

She found him soaked from the chest down as the water splashed over the edges of the tub and couldn’t help but smirk at his appearance.

“It depends on how fast we get the chores done. There’s usually always something, but with an extra pair of hands we might be able to have more free time.” She replied.

“What were your days off like in Dauntless?” She asked before she realized the words came out of her mouth. Making conversation with him wasn’t required to be nice to him and it wasn’t on her agenda either, but it was too late for her to take it back.

“I usually trained with John to keep in shape. We ran laps and sometimes we practiced shooting before kicking the shit out of each other. I usually won, but he’d get a few good shots here and there. Then we’d go to the infirmary to get fixed up before dinner.” He shrugged, like his day was the most normal thing in the world.

Her brow rose and she couldn’t stop herself from asking, “You never just relaxed?”

“Sure we did, we usually went to the bar after work or got a tattoo. Those are relaxing.” He said, scrubbing away at another piece of fabric.

Those things did not sound relaxing to her at all. Dauntless sounded like a completely different lifestyle and she was having a hard time understanding where he came from and how he would ever be satisfied in Amity. He would eventually get so bored, she was sure he would choose to be factionless on his own.

Not wanting him to break Connor’s heart she suggested, “You might want to try the Amity way of relaxing and just sit down and do nothing. You know, lie in the grass and look up at the stars and daydream or something. You might like it.”

“That’s all there’s to life in Amity? Going to work, doing chores, and doing nothing? Don’t you guys have any fun?” He asked, angrily wringing out what he had just washed.

“Of course we do, but having fun isn’t the same as just relaxing. Fun is for the soul and relaxing is for the body. There’s something about just stopping and looking at the world around you or getting lost in a good book as your body rests.” She said and then shrugged. “But if you want fun, there are lots of things you can do. We often play games, and festivals are pretty common as well, there’s even a dance coming up… Connor’s rather fond of climbing trees too. That might be up your alley.” She said.

He remained silent and handed her another piece of clothing and when she went to put it up she noticed it was one of her bras. She forgot she had it in there and blushed. She was going to have to remember to keep her underwear separate and wash them when he wasn’t around.

Silence quickly fell upon them again and they finished the laundry in a couple of hours compared to a full morning when she did it by herself.

After dumping the tubs, Eric took the basket with him to the house to get changed into dry clothes and Olivia followed behind him. She wasn’t sure what his definition of clean was so she wanted to do the bathroom herself and when he was dry, gave him the task of sweeping the floors. Once she was done the bathroom, she found Eric rummaging through the kitchen and two sandwiches on the counter.

“What’s this?” She asked, nearing the kitchen.

“Lunch, I don’t know about you but I am starving.” He said as he poured two glasses of milk.

He passed her one and she looked at it in surprise. “Oh, I thought they were both for you.”

“I’m pretty sure I only need one glass.” He said.

“I meant the sandwiches.” She ignored his sarcasm.

“I can always make another if I’m still hungry, but you need to eat too.” He took his plate and sat down at the table.

Olivia hesitated. She hadn’t eaten bread since the first day Eric arrived, but knowing the bread would help her to get over her anger towards him, she lifted her plate from the counter and sat across from him.

Taking a bite out of her ham sandwich, she wondered what he was up to, and then realized that he had been eating the bread this whole time and wondered if he knew about the serum. If he didn’t know, she wasn’t going to tell him.  
***

  
The silence that always accompanied them when they were together was getting on his nerves. He missed the noises of Dauntless, the loud murmurs of a large group of people talking at once and the clink of dishes during dinner, the boisterous crowd in the Pit, and even the training room with its grunts and groans with the occasional smacking of a body on a mat.

To break it, Eric asked the first thing that came to mind, “What do you do during your free time?”

“Why do you want to know?” She asked.

“For the same reason you asked me, out of curiosity.” He shrugged and took a bite out of his sandwich.

It took her a minute to answer, obviously trying to decide whether or not to tell him. “I paint, when I have time.”

“Are you any good?” He asked between chews.

“Good enough that they get distributed.” Olivia replied before taking a sip of her milk.

“Can I see one?” He asked, not remembering seeing any unfinished paintings hanging around the house.

“You already have, there on the wall.” She pointed.

Eric turned to see what she was talking about and found a painting he had seen but not taken notice of before, hung above the mantel of the fireplace.

It was a picture of a farm, but done in strokes of bright colours and very little fine detail. It was one of those paintings that are best viewed as a whole from a distance. (for an example look up Leonid Afremov)

Eric liked it and he had a feeling that he had seen something like it before. A memory popped into his head.

_He was sitting in a chair with Tori bent over his arm, piercing his skin with a needle and to ignore the pain he stared ahead of him at a painting on the wall._

That was it. Tori had one in her tattoo parlor of the city skyline at night. The colours were darker in that one but the style was still the same. He had liked it because it made him feel tranquil, like he was standing on the roof of the Dauntless compound, staring out over the other buildings with their lights twinkling along with the stars above.

But this one was done with a myriad of colours that made the picture feel joyful and warm, and it struck him funny how all that time he had been staring at a picture she had made, during times of pain to comfort him, when he was the one who had caused her pain.

“You’re really good.” He said still deep in thought and then snapped out of it. “Why don’t you just paint all the time?” He asked her.

“I don’t have the patience to do it all the time, only when the mood strikes me. But we do have full time artists within Amity as well as musicians.” She replied.

“What about your friends? Do you even have any? Because, other than Jacob, I haven’t seen you talk to anyone else outside of this house.” He commented on her lack of social life.

“This is Amity, of course I have friends.” She gave him a look that asked what was wrong with him.

“Then why don’t you see your friends during your time off if you don’t paint all the time?” He asked.

“They have families of their own that they like to spend time with.” She answered and leaned back in her chair, done with her meal.

“I know this might be hard to grasp for a bachelor, but family is more important than going out and getting drunk. Yes, it’s healthy to get out once in a while with friends, but kids take up a lot of your time and it’s hard to find the time for that sort of stuff.” She explained and then added with a shrug, “Plus, they’re too scared to come over now, so I see them at work and I get my socializing done then.”

“They’re scared of me, you mean.” He was annoyed.

Olivia rolled her eyes. “Yes, they’re scared of you. What do you expect? For people to just come over and want to hang out with the ex-Dauntless guy, because they think he’s really cool?”

“No…” He said and rubbed his temples in frustration. “I’m only now starting to comprehend just how much of your life I’ve changed by coming here, and it apparently sucks. You don’t see your friends anymore, and Connor is getting picked on at school, I can understand why you hate me so much and I don’t hold it against you. I promise I’ll do whatever it takes to make it right.”

Olivia looked baffled at his revelation. Was it really that hard for her to believe that he would be sorry for anything and want to make up for it? He watched as her green eyes went from shock to confusion.

“Why do you care so much about making us happy? The only reason why I am sitting here having this conversation with you is to make Connor happy, why are you doing it?” She asked.

Eric sighed, why did he care?

“I don’t know. Maybe it’s because I like Connor and Linda, I might even like you if you weren’t so crabby all the time.” He confessed.

He saw her body tense up as she went on the defensive. “I don’t want you to like me. We can play nice in front of the others, maybe have a civilized conversation when we’re alone, like today, but we are not friends. Now if you’ll excuse me, inspiration has hit and I would like to go paint in my room. I don’t care what you decide to do with the rest of your day, as long as you leave me alone.”

He watched her leave the room in a hurry and he shook his head. This is why he never had a steady girlfriend. Women were way too complicated to deal with on a regular basis.  
***

  
Olivia opened the window in her room to allow the fresh air to expel the smell of her oil paints and pulled her easel out of her closet and a fresh canvas. She sat down in front of it and let her mind wander through the thoughts that plagued her as her hands moved automatically.

Eric. Why did he keep apologizing? It didn’t fit with the perception of him that she had and it was confusing her. Part of her wanted to be friends with him so Connor would be happy, the other part wanted to slap him left and right, but that part was diminishing with each kind act he committed.

Consuming the peace serum with food had a gradual effect. It certainly would not alter his behaviour this quickly, so why was he being kind in the first place?

These were the types of questions that flew through her mind for the next couple of hours, with no answers, until her back was sore from hunching over to reach the canvas and she took a break.

Eric’s eyes stared back at her when she finally focused on her work and she groaned. She must have painted him because he was what occupied her thoughts and not wanting anyone to see it she stashed the canvas under the bed to dry. Then she grabbed her book, relaxed on her bed and began to read for the rest of the night.  
***

  
The sun was going down in the sky, giving it that pink and orange effect as Eric paced the backyard.

Earlier when Linda and Connor came home, he told them that Olivia was painting in her room and they decided to have dinner in the cafeteria instead of bothering her. Apparently she could spend hours without eating when she started working on her artwork.

They invited him to go with them, but he declined, stating that he could eat the leftovers from the night before, so he could have some alone time himself.

Not knowing what else to do when she left him that afternoon, he washed the windows anyway and had a nap. Now he was alert and thinking.

He thought about what Olivia had said about relaxing in Amity and decided to give it a try.

He flopped down onto the grass and laid back to look up at the darkening sky. The grass tickled his arms as he folded them behind his head and he crossed one foot over the other.

Above him a lone star blinked on and off in the distance and gradually as the sun set, more stars came out. Eventually the sky was filled with tiny white dots and Eric gave up trying to count them. He had never seen so many before and it amazed him.

He was deep in thought when he heard voices coming from the front of the house as Connor and Linda came home and he decided to head in too. The night air was getting cooler by the minute and his stomach rumbled.

He warmed up a plate of food and ate quickly while Linda read Connor a book in the same rocking chair Olivia read to him in the first night he was there and then they all headed to bed.


	10. Chapter 10

_Eric’s breath tickled her skin as he leaned in slowly to nibble at her neck. The sensation of his warm lips and the light graze of his beard as he made his way to her collar bone sent electricity through her._

_She relaxed into the thrill of having him so close to her, his large body pushing her against a wall in an unfamiliar corner._

_Olivia’s arms encircled him so her hands could feel his back muscles move underneath them as he inched closer still, his mouth moving back up her neck to playfully nip at her earlobe._

_As the seconds began to feel like minutes, she could feel her lips tingle at the anticipation of his kiss. His mouth mere inches away and all he had to do was turn is face to make contact._

Olivia woke up to the sound of her alarm beeping in the silence of the early morning and she rolled over to smack the clock. When the sound stopped, she rolled back and lay there, thinking back on her dream.

His face was fuzzy, but she was certain that she knew it was Eric while in her dream and she grumbled to herself. This was not something she needed at the moment.

Getting through the day while hating him was hard enough, never mind doing it while falling for him. Eric was not a good role model for her son and she refused to let it ruin her chances with someone who was, like Jacob.

Just because she found him attractive didn’t mean she liked his personality, and one sensual dream couldn’t possibly change your opinion of someone and make you fall for them, could it?

But the dream was so nice and so real. She couldn’t erase it from her thoughts as she had her shower and got ready for the morning. It kept popping into her head every few seconds, especially when the living flesh of the man was in the room with her.

On the floor slept Eric, his face turned towards the burnt out fireplace and his body in the usual position she found him in every morning. He was on his back, his legs sprawled apart under the blanket, parts of them peeking out, this time it was a knee and both bare feet, and his arms flopped across his stomach.

His chest rose slowly with each deep breath he took and she seized the opportunity to appreciate his good looks. The soft curly hairs on his chest begged her to sweep her hand through them, his pectoral muscles asking to be caressed. Her eyes travelled up along the tattoos on his neck to his face and gazed longingly at his full lips, his long nose that bumped slightly at the bridge and then uplifted at the tip was exactly like Connor’s and she snapped out of it.

“ _STOP IT!!!”_ She shouted at herself in her head. _“It’s just the dream talking. Get your mind on something else and when the day is over it will be like nothing had ever happened.”_

She turned away from his sleeping form and began her usual routine. Down the hallway she could hear her mother’s alarm go off and her shuffle out of her room to the bathroom, as Olivia started the French toast.

Fifteen minutes later Connor was roused by her mother and they both came into the main part of the house. Upon seeing Eric asleep, she watched as her son flopped onto Eric’s midsection and he woke up with a surprised groan.

Linda scolded Connor for it, but Olivia remained silent, repressing the urge to grin at the scene. She couldn’t openly thank him for such rude behaviour, but she did inwardly. Serve Eric right, for barging into her dreams like he had, not that it was really his fault, but on some level it was.

“Guess what, Dad!” Connor said happily, still sitting on Eric.

“What? Did Santa Claus come early?” He joked, sitting up against the couch with the boy in his lap.

“No!” Connor giggled. “I have no school today. That means we get to stay home with Grandma and hang out!”

Olivia couldn’t believe she forgot that it was a non-instructional day today. That meant Connor stayed home from school and she was glad that her mother had the day off.

“I think Eric is still going to work today, Connor.” She said, knowing that her mother had said she would share Friday off with him.

“Actually, yesterday Paul asked if we could keep Eric at home today. His wife, Sally, has to go into the city today so he needs to be at home with the kids.” Linda said.

“Fine.” She replied. At least she still had her next day off to herself and she wouldn’t feel the need to keep looking over at the corn field to see him, which against her better judgement was what she was looking forward to doing that day.  
***

  
With the chores done the day before, Linda allowed them to relax out in the sun while she tended her garden.

Connor taught Eric a new game that he hadn’t heard of before, called Tag. They chased each other back and forth and again when it was Eric’s turn to be IT, he swept Connor up in his arms and tickled him. Connor’s giggles were infectious and Eric found himself laughing along with him as they dropped to the ground, breathless.

Eric was enjoying himself playing with Connor and not wanting to stop, he challenged Connor to a tree climbing race on one of the more studier trees in the yard. But with his heavier weight, Eric was obligated to stick with the thicker branches while Connor could go almost anywhere he liked. He called up to the boy when he decided he couldn’t go any further.

“You win!” He shouted and sat on a branch to catch his breath, waiting for Connor to join him.

“I knew I would beat you!” He said as he sat down next to Eric. “You’re too big to go very high.”

“That I am, but one day you’ll get too big too and instead of climbing trees you’ll be climbing walls.” He smirked, then added, “Don’t tell your mom I said that.”

Connor frowned slightly. “My mom doesn’t like Dauntless, does she?”

Eric put his arm around Connor’s shoulders and sighed. “No, she doesn’t. But in her defense, Dauntless hasn’t been very good to her.”

“But you’re from Dauntless and she loved you, right? That’s why you had me.”

“Well…” He was torn between telling him the truth and lying to him. “You don’t have to be in love to have a baby. And to be honest, she didn’t really like me. That’s why she never told me about you, but I am glad that I am with you now.” He said.

“Me too… You want to know what mom told me every time I asked her about you?” He asked. Eric nodded, curious as to what his son had thought of his absence.

“She always said it was forbidden love and you weren’t allowed to see me because you’re from a different faction.” He said, his tone revealing his displeasure at the lie.

Eric squeezed him affectionately. “That’s the Amity way. They lie to keep people happy.”

“But you just told me the truth.” Connor looked up at him, his blue eyes searching his father’s face.

“That’s because I’m from Dauntless, and telling the truth sometimes is the brave thing to do, because it can be really hard.” He explained.

“Should I be braver?” Connor asked him.

“You should do what feels right to you. It doesn’t matter where your mom and I belong, or your grandma. What matters is where you feel like you belong and yeah, you’re stuck here until your choosing day, but after then, it’s your choice and no one else’s.” He replied.

“Have I ever told you that I was a transfer from Erudite?” He asked when Connor still pouted, but the expression quickly turned into wonder as he shook his head in response.

“Yeah, on my choosing day I left my family in Erudite and I chose Dauntless, because that’s where I knew I belonged, not because someone I looked up to was from there. Do you understand?” Eric asked. Connor nodded in reply.

Just the thought of Connor going to Dauntless worried him. Not many transfers came from Amity, and even less made it through initiation. Eric was well prepared for his transition because he studied everything he could about Dauntless before his choosing day.

Would it be wrong for him to help prepare Connor in case he left Amity? He could show him things that Dauntless and Erudite would want from him, giving him a greater chance of success in those factions. Two out of four was pretty good, and what would be the chances he went to Candor? Pretty low by his guess and Abnegation was easy to get through. Yes, if he knew Connor was prepared before transferring he would feel ten times better, and he thought Olivia would too.

“Hey, are those kids at school still bothering you?” He asked with a hidden agenda.

Connor huffed. “Yes. Mom got so mad last time that I didn’t want to say anything.”

“You said they were from Dauntless, right?” Connor nodded and Eric continued, “Do you want me to show you how to get them to back off?”

“Yes!” He exclaimed.

“Ok, but you have to promise to be Amity and not to tell your mom, or she will get very upset with both of us, me especially.”

“I promise!” Connor grinned with enthusiasm.

They climbed out of the tree and told Linda that they were going to be in the backyard. Eric didn’t want her to know what they were doing either, in case she objected as well.

Eric positioned him, legs apart for balance and his fists up, one to cover his face and the other to strike.

“The best way to get Dauntless to back off is to show them that you’re just as tough and they will respect you for it. We’re going to do that by hitting them, so here’s what you do.”

He spent a good half hour showing Connor the best way to take down his opponent and letting him practice on him. The kid had a mean right hook and if he took them by surprise he could accomplish what he wanted to.

Soon it was lunch and Eric hoisted Connor onto his shoulders and carried him into the house behind Linda.  
***

  
Olivia sat down under one of the many apple trees with her two friends and opened the bag of lunch she was passed, by one of the people who delivered food from the cafeteria to the workers.

Inside was a yogurt, an apple and a B.L.T. sandwich. It was common for sandwiches to be a lunch item so Amity could ensure its’ members would get a regular dose of the peace serum, and looking at it she tentatively took a bite out of hers.

Her friend Lexi, who had naturally dark skin and tight curly black hair, asked her, “How was your first day alone with Eric?”

Olivia swallowed and replied, “It was ok, I guess. He helped me do chores, then after lunch he pissed me off so I ignored him the rest of the day and painted. Went better than I thought it would, actually.”

Her friends laughed at the ridiculousness of that statement. “What were you expecting that would be worse than anger in Amity?” Tanya asked. Her blonde hair braided down the back to keep it out of her blue eyes.

Olivia pursed her lips in thought. “I don’t know… But I am trying to be more civil to him so Connor doesn’t notice the tension between us, and we had a somewhat nice conversation before it went bad.” She explained.

“What did he say to make you angry?” Tanya asked.

Olivia rolled her eyes at the memory. “He implied we could be friends if I wasn’t such a bitch. Like that will ever happen.”

“I’m surprised you even allowed him to stay with you! If I was in your situation, I wouldn’t be able to see him every day, that’s for sure.” Lexi said.

“Yeah, but he’s so gorgeous! I kinda wish I could see him every day.” Tanya said with a dreamy look. “Does he walk around the house naked?” She asked Olivia.

Lexi punched Tanya playfully on the arm and Olivia blushed. “He did once, kind of. He had a towel on.”

“Boo!” Tanya pouted. “A man that good looking should show it off!”

“You’re more than welcome to come over and stare at him if you want.” She offered her friend. Tanya went silent.

“See, you’re too scared to go anywhere near him. And imagine if it was you he assaulted. Would you still want to see him naked all the time then?” Lexi asked, her hands moving about as she talked.

“I’m sorry.” Tanya sighed. “You must find him completely repulsive.”

“No… He’s not repulsive and I can definitely agree that he is good looking, but I’m not comfortable with him too close and definitely not touching me. The first time he did, I freaked out and ran away. The last couple of times I involuntarily cringed, but it was bearable, probably because those other times were less contact than the first.”

She paused and wondered if it was a bad idea to mention her dream to them and decided to go for it. They were her friends, and would support her, especially since Lexi was a part-time counsellor.

“And that’s what makes my dream from last night very weird.” She continued. Her friends leaned in, knowing from her tone that she was about to give out juicy details. “I had this sensual dream about Eric kissing me… And I like it. I have no idea why I dreamt that.” She shrugged.

Lexi chewed her lip thoughtfully and Tanya hid her grin poorly behind her sandwich. Inwardly she rolled her eyes at Tanya and her constant sexual mind.

“He was your first, right?” Lexi asked.

“First what? You mean sex?” She asked, and Lexi nodded. “Yes, he was and there hasn’t been anyone since either.”

“Well, maybe because he’s the only experience you’ve had, and I know it wasn’t a good one and that’s my point. Maybe now you want to have a good experience and your mind used his image because he’s the only one you could visualize. You know what I mean?” She tried to explain.

Olivia thought on it. Her theory made sense and it made her feel better to think of it that way compared to wondering if she now actually had feelings for him.

A grin spread to her lips and she hugged her friend. “Thanks! I knew I could count on you guys to make me feel better!”

“So, this good experience you’re looking for… Are you going out with Jacob again?” Tanya asked, teasing.

“Yes… I don’t know when yet, but he did ask to see me again. And I’m not sure yet that I want have that experience with him.” She replied, stirring her spoon in her yogurt to mix up the fruit.

“You did say that you plan to marry him one day, right? That usually means you have sex with the guy.” Tanya said, her usually smooth forehead wrinkling with puckered brows.

“I know that. I just haven’t pictured him that way. Maybe when I get to know him more, it will come.” Olivia said, hoping deeply it was true, because so far the only man she’s thought of sexually was Eric.

“I don’t know. If I had to choose between Jacob and Eric to have sex with, pretending that Eric was a good guy, I would totally choose Eric. He’s got those BIG muscles.” Tanya said, illustrating the size of his arms with her hands.

Supressing a smile at her friend, she said, “Sex isn’t the most important thing in a marriage, Tanya. Maybe, I’d rather be with someone I trust.”

“I totally agree on the trust, but sex IS important in a marriage. It won’t work if you marry someone you aren’t attracted to, because then you’re just… roommates.” Her friend Tanya replied.

“What other choice do I have? I don’t trust Eric, so he’s out of the question and Jacob’s the only man here that is willing to overlook the fact that I have a child with another man, a man very much present now and formidable.” Olivia said.

“There’s always Edmund Greer.” Lexi suggested after silently listening to their conversation.

Olivia and Tanya made a face. “He’s too old!” Tanya complained.

“Yes, but a widower without children will gladly marry a younger woman with kids.” She defended her perfectly reasonable suggestion.

Olivia frowned. “No thanks. I’ll take my chances with Jacob. Anyway, how’s Ned, Lexi? I hope he hasn’t felt neglected with Connor’s absence. Having a dad has taken up a lot of his mind lately.”

“Oh, he’s fine. John and I explained to him that it was important for Connor and he was okay with that. They see each other at school too, so he’s happy. Is Eric bonding with Connor?” She asked.

“Yeah, he was a bit hesitant at first but I think he’s really starting to like having Connor around. Connor is just ecstatic. He wants to spend as much time with him as he can. Today they’re doing who knows what at home with my mom.” She replied.  
***

  
The sky out the window was dark when Olivia got home, but Eric was too focused on the board game he was playing with Connor and Linda to notice her arrival.

It was called Risk, a game that they often played in Dauntless. Connor had asked him to show them a game he used to play there so he made a crude version of it out of cardboard, crayons and painted pebbles to replace the little men.

After explaining the game to them, they had played for a short time before Linda was out and now he was against Connor. The boy understood the game and was doing well, compared to his grandmother who had no idea whatsoever, but he lacked the practice that Eric had and was soon going to lose as well.

“What are you guys doing?” Olivia asked and sat down at the kitchen table in her usual seat.

“Eric is showing us a game they played in Dauntless. It’s very… Different from ones we play, but Connor is having fun.” He heard Linda explain as he made his move.

He took out all of Connor’s soldiers in Australia and the boy groaned as he frantically tried to come up with a new plan to get it back.

Eric sat back in his chair while he waited for Connor to make his move and watched as Linda told Olivia the rules. Her rosy lips frowned at the goal of the game, but her eyes were focused on the board.

Fifteen minutes later Eric stole the remaining countries and the game was over. Linda had left the table to make finger food for dinner so they could eat while playing and Connor set the game up again. Olivia took her mother’s place when she opted to just watch.

Eric assumed she would be out as quickly as Linda, but the game easily became twice as long as the last and Connor was yawning in his seat.

He quickly lost all his men to Eric and kissed his mother goodnight. He then followed Linda to bed, but not before giving Eric a hug as he left, leaving them alone to finish the game.

Eric turned to his remaining opponent and found her leaning over with her chin in her palm and her brows puckered in concentration. The red in her hair gleamed in the firelight as she decided her next move.

He never would have thought she had a mind for strategy, but here she was keeping him at bay and he couldn’t help but feel mild admiration.

She moved her red pebbles towards his black ones in Argentina and failed her attack. He smirked when she smacked her hand against the table top in frustration.

“You’re just itching to beat me, aren’t you?” He asked her.

Olivia met his gaze. “What if I am?”

“Good, but you’re trying too hard.” He told her, crossing his arms over his chest.

“What do you mean?” She looked confused.

“A lot of people lose when they let their emotions run them, it clouds their minds. But if you just let it go like I do, then you might be able to win.” He said as he attacked her army in Brazil.

She had only one infantry left in the country which was what he had meant. She tried so hard to defeat him with as many men she could and when she lost she had left it undefended. His three men quickly defeated her one and he took over Brazil.

When she went grab her pieces in the Middle East, he placed his hand on top of hers to stop her. She didn’t pull away, but he could feel it slightly shake. Her hand was soft and warm under his and he wrapped his fingers around her hand to move it to a different part of the board.

“You’re better off attacking me from here.” He explained and let her hand slip out from his.

He gave her tips throughout the rest of the game and even though he was still winning, the game went on for a long time. It wasn’t until Olivia looked up at the clock that they realized it was eleven.

“We better get to bed.” She said and stood, abandoning the game as it was. Eric agreed and they headed for their separate beds.


	11. Chapter 11

Eric sat down at the kitchen table, staring at the Risk board game they had left out the night before and thought. It was very unusual for someone from Amity to enjoy playing a war game, never mind be good at it. Olivia wasn’t quite as Amity as she should be and he wondered if it was solely because of him or if there was another factor in there.

The sound of footsteps entering the living room made him look up. Olivia always awoke first so he wasn’t surprised to see her go to the coffee machine like every other morning and frown at the dark liquid in the pot.

Confused, she turned in his direction and jumped a little when she met his eyes. “Geez, I didn’t see you.” She said, her hand touching the middle of her chest in surprise. “Why aren’t you asleep?”

“Too much on my mind to sleep.” He responded, cupping the mug he held between both hands. He had stayed up most of the night thinking about their game and the last week. There was something about Olivia that he couldn’t put his finger on and the mystery had kept him awake trying to figure it out.

“Hmm. Well I hope you can stay awake at work. With a day missed, Paul is going to be pushing you to seed that field as quickly as possible.” She replied, filling her own mug with coffee. She leaned against the counter, blew on the steaming drink softly and took a sip.

“I’ve had worse.” He eyed her over his cup. He watched her as she set the mug down and began making breakfast.  
***

  
With Eric off with Paul and Connor to school, Olivia and Linda went to work in the orchard.

It was an overcast day, the clouds dark with rain that threatened to fall and a cool wind blew past them. Olivia pulled her yellow cardigan tighter around herself and looked up at the dark sky. The rain was good for the crops, but there was a lot of work to be done and she hoped it would be a short rainfall.

But the rain was the least of her worries when later on she was passed a letter from the school by one of Joanna’s envoys.

“What is it?” Linda had asked as Olivia opened it up to read.

Scanning it over, Olivia’s mouth pursed in anger and she marched out of the orchard without a word, ignoring her mother’s calls.  
***

  
“What the hell is this?!” Eric heard Olivia before he saw her, storming up to him with a paper waving in her hand.

“What the hell is what?” He asked confused as to what her problem was now.

“I just got a letter from Connor’s principle, saying that he’s in trouble for fighting with a Dauntless boy!” She cried her anger clearly visible.

“Oh.”

“Is that all you have to say?” Olivia glared at him. “Please tell me that you didn’t teach him to fight.”

“If that makes you feel better, then no, I didn’t.” He lied.

Olivia took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Look, I’m trying to be nicer to you, but you are making it really hard when you pull shit like this.”

“I did him a favor. That kid was going to beat Connor up day after day if he didn’t stand up to him.” Eric said getting angry as well.

“We’re from Amity, we don’t fight!” She shouted.

Eric straightened up and clenched his jaw, trying to keep his anger in check. “You are, but Connor might not.”

“Stop trying to push him towards Dauntless, Eric!”

“I’m not pushing him anywhere, but if he’s going to transfer there after his choosing day then it’s better for him to be prepared.” He replied, his fist gripping the bag of seeds he carried.

“Just because you’re from Dauntless doesn’t mean he belongs there too.” She hissed back at him.

Eric’s pent up anger was getting the better of him. “It doesn’t matter that I’m from Dauntless!” He shouted at her. “Or that you’re from Amity. He could have both parents from Amity and still belong somewhere else, whether it’s Dauntless or Candor. You can’t force him to stay somewhere he doesn’t belong.” He calmed down.

Olivia looked away and shrugged. “It happens all the time.”

Sure it did, kids chose to stay home despite their test results for all kinds of reasons. With that in mind Eric froze, an idea hitting him. “You got Dauntless on your aptitude test didn’t you?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” She said, turning away from him. Eric grabbed her arm and made her face him.

“Don’t lie to me. I’ve been seeing the signs and I’ve finally figured it out. No one who is truly Amity would like playing Risk, or tell me off as much as you have and…” He trailed off in thought. “You took the train that night. No one has the guts to take the train except Dauntless…” Eric groaned, “I should have known then… Why didn’t you fight back?”

Olivia pulled her arm from his grasp. “You’re kidding me right? There were three of you and I didn’t have the training you did, so I hoped you would take pity on an Amity girl and leave me alone. Obviously it didn’t work out as planned.”

Eric rubbed his temple with his free hand. “Do you realize that if you had transferred to Dauntless then we wouldn’t be in this mess in the first place?” He asked, annoyed.

“Do you think I don’t know that?! My son belongs in a faction that he should have been born in and I hate myself for it!” She cried, raising her arms in frustration.

Sympathy tugged at him. “Why did you stay in Amity?”

She sighed and hugged herself as the cool wind picked up. “My father was dying. I couldn’t just leave my mom alone.”

Eric crossed his arms over his expansive chest and said to himself, “You chose blood over faction.”

“Yes.” She replied in a whisper.

They stared at each other for a minute as little drops began to fall onto their heads, slowly at first and then quickly soaking them through, but neither seemed to mind.

“Please don’t tell my mom.” She pleaded at last, little streams running down her cheeks.

“I won’t.” He promised. There was nothing either of them could do about it now anyway. She had chosen Amity and therefore had to live like them, which she had with success until he came around.

Not wanting her to get into trouble with all their arguing, he decided to try to get along even if she didn’t. Then at least it wouldn’t be his fault if she got kicked out.

“Truce?” He said, offering her his hand. He watched her eye it anxiously and he frowned. “We can’t be friends if you can’t stand to be near me.”

Olivia looked up at him in mild surprise. “You noticed?”

He lifted an eyebrow at her. “Of course I did, and I don’t blame you. The last time I really touched you, I hurt you, but I promise it won’t happen again.”

“How do you know it’s not just because I don’t like you?” She asked, three feet away from him and her arms still wrapped around herself.

The corner of Eric’s mouth lifted at her attempt to look nonchalant, and even though her body language told him what he had said was true, he said, “Fine. If that’s all it is, then you’ll have no problem holding my hand all the way to the barn.”

She glanced at his outreached hand again. He had to credit her stubbornness, because she quickly placed hers in his and squeezed, like she was taking off a bandage quickly to lessen the pain.

Her fingers were cool against his warm ones and they set off together towards the building at the edge of the field where Paul was watching them from behind a window.

As soon as they were under the protection of the roof Olivia let go and leaned against the tractor that sat inside. Eric relaxed in the spot next to her, close enough that her shoulder rubbed against his upper arm, and crossed his ankles.

Clearly not wanting to be so close, she would shuffle over to create space between them, but he would quickly follow, and after the third time she glowered at him and gave up, finally resting against the vehicle behind them, and they watched the rain in companionable silence.  
***

  
An hour passed and the rain showed no signs of giving up. Olivia had tried to concentrate on the conversation she would have with Connor once he got home to take her mind off the man standing too close, but as the air grew colder, Eric’s warmth was welcoming and she leaned into him as casually as she could.

“Maybe we should give up and go home.” Eric suggested, looking down at her. Her teeth’s chattering was the only response she managed to give him.

“Here.” Paul said and draped a blanket around her shoulders. Olivia clung to the folds, thankful for the excuse to back away from Eric and noticed the tinge of blue on his lips.

Alarmed, she said, “We better get home, before we both freeze to death.” and wrapped half of the blanket around Eric. She waved good-bye to Paul and they went back out into the pouring rain.

The walk home was slow, because they were pressed together tightly for each other’s heat and when they finally reached the house, their clothes dripping in the doorway, both Linda and Connor were already there.

Linda rushed over and pushed them towards the bathroom. “We better get you taken care of. Connor, grab a couple of blankets please.”

Connor ran out of the room and they shivered their way to the small bathroom where Linda instructed them to undress.

“To… gether?!” Olivia managed to say indignantly.

Linda stopped and placed both hands on either hip and stared her down. “Do you want hypothermia?” Olivia shook her head no. “Then stop whining and do what I tell you.” She took the blankets Connor had passed her and blocked the space between them with one.

Feeling awkward, Olivia began to take her clothes off in a hurry. She then grabbed the spare blanket that sat on the side of the tub and wrapped it around herself, allowing Linda to devote the other to Eric when he was done.

“Off to bed the both of you now.” Linda declared and ushered them to Olivia’s room and pulled back the purple polka dot print cover.

Eric quickly jumped in, wrapped like a mummy in the first blanket and waited for Olivia to stop hesitating and get in too.

“Is this necessary?” She asked her mother.

“You both need body heat to warm yourselves up slowly and snuggling up in bed is a great way to do that.”

Rolling her eyes, she got in and Linda tucked them both in with the second blanket. Ten minutes after she left to give them some privacy, Olivia scooted closer to Eric.

“Nice of you to join me.” He said, sleepily. “What happened to not liking me?”

“Shut up. I’m too cold to care about that right now.” She said through her chattering.

“Hmm… Well now that I have you alone and nowhere to go, I wanted to ask you something.”

“What?”

“Why are you so against Connor going to Dauntless if you should be in Dauntless too? Are you that scared that if he goes he will turn into me and make the same mistakes?”

Olivia remained silent for a minute, looking up at the ceiling before answering. “I’m terrified of being alone. If Connor goes to Dauntless and my mother dies then that’s what will happen. It’s another reason why I chose to stay in Amity. I couldn’t handle the thought of going somewhere completely new all by myself... Plus becoming like you is also a major reason.”

She could feel Eric’s gaze on her face, but she refused to look at him.

“Is that why you seem so hell bent on going out with that Jacob guy?” He asked, ignoring her last statement.

“I don’t want to talk about it, ok?” She said firmly.

“Fine, but I still think you’re making a mistake.” He mumbled, his eyes half closed.

“Go to sleep, Eric.” She said and soon his rhythmic breathing rocked her into oblivion.


	12. Chapter 12

Eric woke up first, still wrapped in his blanket. Beside him, Olivia’s body was snuggled up against him. Her arm, freed of the blanket, was wrapped around his torso, and her head rested inches from his.

He turned to look at her, the sunrise shinning golden through the window onto her face. Her long eyelashes rested against the tan skin of her cheek and her rose bud lips parted slightly in sleep. If he wasn’t trapped in the blanket he would have ran his hand over her red tinted hair, but not wanting to disturb her, he instead settled to look at her.

She was very pretty, he knew that the first time he had met her, but now he understood that she was human too. She made mistakes like everyone else, including him, and he wondered why he had painted her as such a bitch before.

Eric’s nose tickled and he tried to avoid it by holding his breath, but the sneeze won out and Olivia woke up at the noise. Her head jerked up and she looked at him, then at the window.

“What time is it?” She asked searching for her alarm clock, and groaning when she saw it was 6 am. “Oh no, we’re going to be late!” She shoved the top blanket off and the second dropped to her waist when she sat up.

Eric got a good view as her naked chest was in his direct line of sight, and he felt a hardening down low. She must have felt the breeze and remembered the fact that she was naked underneath the blanket, because she quickly pulled it back up around her and glared at him.

Eric gave her a shrug, but didn’t hide his grin at her discomfort. He finally freed himself from his own wrapping and stretched, resting his hands behind his head while she got up without any more difficulty.

He laid there, enjoying the comfort of a warm bed, and watched Olivia grab her clothes and leave to change somewhere else; he sneezed again.  
***

  
Olivia quickly changed into her clothes in the bathroom and rushed out to start breakfast, but when she entered the other room her mother was already setting food down on the table and Connor was sitting, ready to eat.

“Oh, you’re up! How are you feeling?” Linda asked pleasantly, wiping her hands on her apron.

“Fine, but why didn’t you wake us up?” She asked, sitting down and filing her bowl with porridge.

“I figured you needed the sleep if you slept through your alarm. Besides, when I went in to check up on you both, you two looked so sweet I couldn’t bring myself to disturb you.” She winked at her.

Olivia rested her eyes in her hand in annoyance at her mother’s meddling.

Eric sneezed loudly as he entered the room soon after her and sat down as well. Linda walked over to him and placed her hand on his brow.

“Hmm, you’re not warm, probably just a cold.” She said and sat down. “I don’t know what made the two of you to stay out in the rain like that, but try to not do it again.”

Olivia looked at Eric and knew she didn’t plan on it. Then her gaze stopped on Connor, who was busy eating his food with his head bowed. At his attempt to not bring attention to himself, she was reminded of the reason why she and Eric were in the rain to begin with.

She looked at Eric again, filling his porridge with milk and sugar and thought about what he had said. She knew Connor most likely would transfer to Dauntless and there was nothing she could do to stop it, so he might as well be prepared, and decided to not bring up the letter from the school.

Her gaze drifted back to Eric. The man was like a magnet, pulling her in even when she fought hard to get away. His beard was in full now, but kept short and she thought it suited him better than the shaved version of him. It made him look more masculine, somehow.

Eric looked at her and when she saw him glance down to her chest for a brief second, she scowled at him and covered herself. Linda kicked her under the table. “What?” She asked, turning to her.

“I was asking you about the letter you got yesterday.” Linda replied. Oops, she must have been too focused on Eric to hear her.

She saw the curious look he gave her, wondering whether she would tell or not. “Oh, it was just a letter from Jacob, asking me to go to the dance with him tomorrow night.” She lied offhandedly.

Linda frowned. “Oh... Then why did you yell at Eric after reading it?”

“Umm…” She looked at him again.

“She was mad, because she thought she had to accompany me the whole time so I could attend. She asked me to not go, but I refused to stay home.” Eric supplied for her.

“That’s silly, Olivia! Connor and I can stay with Eric, while you go with Jacob. There’s no need from him to stay home.” Linda said at her seeming absurdity.

“Of course, I should have thought of that.” Olivia said, going back to her meal.

“I think you owe Eric an apology.” Linda scolded. Eric snorted in his milk.

“I do?” Olivia asked, looking up at the both of them.

“Yes, you do. You yelled at him for something so trivial, keeping the both of you in the rain, and now he has a cold. I think that warrants an apology.” She gestured to Eric.

Eric watched her, his brow raised and a slight smirk playing on his lips as he waited for her to apologize for something that she didn’t need to apologize for. Olivia cursed inwardly and took a deep breath.

“I’m sorry, Eric, for yelling at you and keeping you in the rain.” She said clearly so she wouldn’t have to do it again.

“It’s not like you haven’t yelled at me before.” He said, brushing it off like it was nothing, but the look in his eyes told her that he was amused she had to do it to keep up with the lie.  
***

  
The rain had continued on through the night and only stopped before the sun rose, their feet squishing the soft ground beneath them as they walked to the truck where Connor caught his ride to school.

Connor walked with Eric a few feet behind his mother and said quietly so she wouldn’t overhear, “I did what you told me to do, yesterday.”

Eric put his hand on the boy’s shoulder and squeezed. “I know. The principal told your mom what happened.”

Connor looked up worried. “She did? Why didn’t mom get mad?”

“Your mom and I had a talk about it. I think she decided she was ok with it and let it go.” Eric reassured him.

“Phew! I thought for sure she was going to ground me so I couldn’t go to the dance tomorrow!” He relaxed with relief. “Hey, you wanna know what happened _after_ I punched Dante?” He asked obviously excited about something.

“What happened?” He asked to humour him.

“A girl kissed me!” Connor bounced as he walked.

“Way to go Kid! You’re first kiss and fight all in one day. Who was the lucky girl?” He patted him on the back.

“Avery Wallace, she’s Dauntless. She told me I was brave when I hit Dante and kissed me. Then Mr. Camden caught me and took me to the principal’s office.”

“Is she going to be your girlfriend now?” Eric teased.

Connor frowned in thought. “I don’t know. What do you do with a girlfriend?”

Eric laughed. “Same thing you do with your other friends, except you get to kiss.”

“Oh, well that doesn’t sound too bad.” He replied, fixing how his backpack sat on his shoulder. “Did you have a girlfriend in Dauntless, Dad?”

“Hmm… Not really. I was pretty busy when I was Leader, it didn’t leave much time for a relationship.” Eric said, not wanting to inform him of the friends with benefits part of dating.

They made it to the truck and watched Connor get on, waving him good-bye as it drove towards the city gates. Then they turned to go to their own jobs.

“I want to thank you for covering for me at breakfast.” Olivia said after walking side by side in silence for a bit. “I know you didn’t have to do it.”

“Well, if you weren’t going to give the kid heck about it, I didn’t want Linda to do it for you.” He explained, looking down at her profile. She looked up at him and gave him a quick shy smile, before resuming her stare straight ahead.

Oddly, he didn’t want to stop their conversation, so he asked, “So, did Jacob really ask you to the dance tomorrow?”

“No, he didn’t, but I’m sure he won’t say no when I ask him later today. I can’t go without him if I don’t want my mom asking questions.” She said.

“I guess not.” Eric said, feeling a twinge of jealousy, hearing her say that. He had felt it the first time he saw them together at dinner, then again after their date, but they were only small ones. More from viewing her as his property, his damaged girl, but this time it was stronger. He was starting to like her and he didn’t want Jacob getting in the way of what they were building.

“I’ll see you later.” She said good-bye, leaving him with Paul before he could return the farewell. He watched her go, her long hair braided down her back, swinging side to side with each step she took. He made a promise to himself to show her that he was worth falling for, instead of Jacob Willemsen.


	13. Chapter 13

Work ended early the next day so everyone could have time to prepare for the dance that evening, and Olivia was in her bedroom trying to decide between two outfits.

The night before she had found Jacob outside the main building tending to the hedges and had asked him to accompany her tonight. He agreed whole heartedly, a large grin lighting up his features, and she spent the day feeling anxious and excited about the dance. Now her mother was helping her choose which dress to pick as she held each up in front of her.

“Do you like this red one or the yellow?” She asked. The red was a short dress made up of a patchwork of different red patterns, with a v neck and spaghetti straps.

The yellow was a light lemon color that went down to her ankles, the last quarter of the skirt was lace as well as the upper body with a layer of nude colored cloth underneath to keep it respectable, and a similar neckline as the other dress.

“The yellow one. It has a good skirt for dancing in, and it won’t show too much skin.” Linda said, admiring the dress she chose.

Her mother was right. The skirt was loose for movement and she suspected too much skin might bother Jacob with his Abnegation upbringing.

She quickly put it on and did her hair in two side braids that didn’t start until her chin and finished it with a crystal beaded headband. Then she applied a little bit of natural looking make-up and was ready to go.

She joined the others by the front door and assessed their outfits. Connor was in his best solid yellow shirt and red pant combo, clean and untorn, suitable for the dance and still run around in, and Linda wore her favorite solid red dress, with a v neck and billowy sleeves. It also went down to her ankles and was complete with a leather belt. Her hair was done up in one large braid that twisted across her head.

Eric didn’t have many clothes, so she was glad to see him dressed in a red button up shirt with the two buttons at the top undone and his sleeves rolled up to his elbows. There was no hiding the bold tattoos he had on his neck so there was no point in covering the arm ones either, she supposed, but he did look sexy and Olivia told herself to look away.  
***

  
Eric was speechless when Olivia walked into the room. It wasn’t a clingy dress like he was used to seeing in Dauntless, but it looked great on her. The color accentuated her tan, which made her eyes stand out even more than usual, and the neckline showed a decent amount of cleavage. He was disappointed when she turned away from his gaze and told them to exit the house.

The walk through the cool evening air buzzed with excitement, Linda and Olivia huddled close for warmth, animatedly talking, but for Eric, it was a trifle nerve wracking. It would be the first time since arriving that he would be around many of the Amity members, and he wasn’t sure how they would react to his presence, but he obediently followed them in silence.

Loud country music played through the open doors and they followed another family in to where Jacob stood waiting for them.

He smiled at the sight of Olivia. “You look fantastic!” He said taking her hands and appraising her, making her blush. “And so do you Linda! Beautiful as always.” He said to her mother, letting Olivia go. Eric wanted to punch him in the nose.

“Thank you Jacob, you look wonderful as well.” Linda replied politely, holding Connor in front of her.

“Grandma, can I go play with Ned?” Connor interrupted, craning his neck to look up at her from behind.

“Sure, honey. Just make sure you don’t leave the building, ok?” Linda said, giving him a playful shove.

Connor quickly ran off, shouting behind him that he wouldn’t leave and he was out of sight as soon as he went through the doors.

“You guys go and have fun, Eric and I will be fine on our own.” Linda said, waving her daughter and Jacob off to enjoy themselves.

With a thankful smile at her mother, Olivia linked her left arm through Jacob’s offered right and waved them good-bye. Eric watched them head into the large meeting room down the hall, where the music was coming from and Connor had ditched them.

Linda, not waiting for Eric to offer, copied Olivia and hooked her elbow around his. Eric looked down at the older woman with amusement and gave her a half smile.

Linda frowned at his expression. “What’s the matter? Don’t know how to dance?”

“I can do a few Dauntless moves, like the bump and grind, but I doubt that would be received well here. I have no idea what passes for dancing in Amity.” He replied.

Linda smiled and patted his hand. “Ever heard of line dancing?” Eric shook his head no and Linda went on to explain. “It’s a choreographed dance where a group of people stand in one or more lines and repeat a sequence of steps in unison.”

She pulled his bulky form with little resistance and they walked through the tall double doors into a room transformed into a country barn, with square hay bales littered around the perimeter of the room to be used as seats and tables, so the middle of the room could be used for dancing.

Wild flowers were strategically placed to enhance the room’s beauty and lights hung from the ceiling in mason jars. The roof was high enough that Eric didn’t hit his head on them as he scanned the room in awe, finding the music coming from a band of musicians at the main end of the room where Joanna often talked to the Amity community as a whole.

“Pretty, isn’t it?” Linda asked, looking around as well.

“Yeah...” He replied, taken aback by how much effort they put into it. “You guys sure go all out.”

“Dances here are major social gatherings. We want everyone to feel relaxed and happy so a lot of work goes into making sure that it’s a good experience.” She explained and Eric felt like an initiate getting the grand tour.

They sat down on a couple of empty bales in between the door and the band and watched the dancers. There were three lines of four dancers and Eric unconsciously tapped his foot to the unfamiliar music as the dancers moved around the floor.  
***

  
“Would you like a drink?” Jacob asked, pulling Olivia’s gaze away from Eric and her mother across the room to the server passing by with a tray full of beverages. She nodded and they both quickly snatched a glass up before the girl could walk away to the couple cuddling next to them.

Olivia took a sip and a delicious blend of fruit flavored water met her taste buds. She was busy trying to decipher which fruits they had used when Jacob asked her a question, bringing her back to the moment.

“Can you believe they did all this today?” He said indicating the decorated room.

Olivia nodded. “They must have been busy bees, but they did a wonderful job. Did you help?” She asked conversationally, swirling her drink around in its clear plastic cup.

“Yes, but I was more of an errand boy, getting this, and getting that from storage.” Jacob replied with a shrug of his shoulder and a shy smile.

“Well, they wouldn’t have gotten done on time if it wasn’t for you running around.” She placed her hand on his arm and praised him; his smile grew bigger and he nodded in thanks.

Olivia’s gaze slid away from him as they grew quiet and looked through the dancers to her earlier focus. She choked on a giggle and quickly took another sip of her drink to hide it.

Across the room her mother was trying to teach Eric a simple dance and he looked like a large drunk lumberjack fumbling over his own feet as he tried to walk home.

Olivia loved to dance and with a new song starting for a couples dance she asked her date, “Would you like to dance, Jacob?”

She watched as his eyes pinched and he warily replied, “I’m afraid I’m not much of a dancer.”

“Oh…” She sighed and settled down on the hay bale behind her for a long night.  
***

  
“Olivia would probably be a better teacher, because she loves to dance, but I think you’re getting it.” Linda apologized for her less than adequate teaching skills when they took a break. She grabbed the cup beside her and took a good swig.

Eric frowned, hunched over his own cup, watching Olivia across the room. “Then why isn’t she dancing, if she loves it so much?”

Linda paused and looked at the couple too. “Hmm, maybe Jacob can’t dance and she doesn’t want to leave him alone.”

Eric straightened up and crossed his arms over his chest, scowling as he did so. “I don’t know what she sees in that guy.”

“The opposite of you, is what. She’s pushing herself towards him to protect herself from you.” Linda said from the wisdom of her many years.

“That’s ridiculous, why would she do that?” Eric scoffed.

“She’s scared of you.” She returned simply, setting her cup down again and facing him. “I might be wrong, but it sounds like you like her.”

Eric cast her a side glance. He wasn’t sure whether or not he wanted her to get involved with the situation, so he decided to play dumb. “I don’t. I just don’t like him.” He said, keeping his face expressionless.

“I think I know you well enough by now to tell when you’re hiding what you really feel. I’ve noticed the way you look at her sometimes.” Linda said firmly, not giving in to his lie.

“I don’t know if I’m comfortable having this conversation with her _mother_.” He said, trying to dissuade her from the topic.

Linda scoffed. “I’m already well aware of your carnal past. I think I can handle knowing that you’re attracted to her. And if I know my daughter too, then I know she’s attracted to you as well. But then again you’d be hard pressed to find a female who wasn’t.” She said looking around the room at the ladies who were in deed sneaking in quick glances at the gorgeous man next to her.

“She likes you, even if she hasn’t realized it yet. Let me help you.” She continued eagerly.

Eric eyed her for a moment, curious as to why she would be insistent on her daughter dating the guy who raped her. “Why do you want to help me?”

“Because there’s something in there worth redeeming, and I want to see the both of you and Connor happy.” She gently poked him in the chest.

The music stopped and there was a lull between songs as the dancers left the floor before the band started playing again, this time for another couples dance. “Come on, we’ll start now.” She got up and pulled him towards the dance floor.

Eric lurched forward from her tug and reluctantly followed her to the dance floor. The others, who joined them, gave them a wide berth as they linked arms and waited for the music to begin.

Eric copied them and positioned himself with Linda just in time and he clumsily tried to follow the footwork his partner was doing as they circled the floor together.

The second time around, Linda cried out and bent over. “Oh, shit, did I hurt you?” Eric asked, worried he had stepped on her foot funny or something.

Linda was leaning against him, pain written on her face, when Olivia and Jacob rushed over to inspect the injury.

“Are you ok, mom?” Olivia asked, looking her over.

Linda patted her daughter’s arm and replied, “I’m fine. Just hurt my ankle is all. Would you mind finishing the dance with Eric, while I sit down? We’ve been practicing and I promised to dance with him.” She asked.

Eric could see the cogs working in her brain as she thought about it, but it was Jacob who made the decision for her. “Go ahead, Olivia. I can sit with Linda for a bit.”

Linda didn’t wait for her reply to leave Eric’s side and hobbled off with the other man, leaving them alone together. The back of Eric’s neck grew hot at the feeling of curious eyes on them. The other dancers glancing at them as they passed by were not the only ones watching them. Many people in close proximity to witness the event waited to see if she would dance with him.

“Shall we?” He asked, holding out his hands for her to take. After a quick glance around the room, she nodded and placed their hands in the proper position and led them back into line.

He tried to concentrate on the footwork Olivia was doing, but half of his mind focused on the feel of her body so close to his. Her side was pressed in tightly against his and his height caused his arm to rub against her bosom as they circled the dance floor. It was only luck and Olivia’s ability to dodge his feet that kept him from tripping them both up.  
***

  
Soon the dance ended and Olivia let him go. She looked over at the others and found Jacob engrossed in telling her mother something. Probably a story involving his work; her mother looked bored and wanting to avoid sitting through that conversation she asked Eric if he wanted to learn some more moves.

With a quick nod from him, she motioned for him to follow her outside. She was beginning to feel warm in the crowded room and his large body needed more room to move around in case he tripped himself up.

The cool wind felt nice on her bare arms and face as she stepped out the door with Eric right behind her. There was a bench off to the side of the entrance and Olivia headed over to it without sitting down.

“So, I saw my mom teach you The Boot Scootin’ Boogie earlier.” She confessed pacing; beginning to feel uncomfortable being alone with him. “So, I guess I will show you The Cotton-Eyed Joe.”

She mentally prepared herself. _I can do this, teaching Eric to dance is better than sitting around all night. It’ll be fine. Jacob has my mom to bore to death and… Eric has been ok lately._

She gave herself a nod and showed him the position to start in. Eric copied her and did the best he could to follow her steps, but the majority of the time he fumbled about and eventually he tripped on his own foot and fell backwards onto the grass.

Olivia burst out laughing against her will and couldn’t stop as Eric joined her in the merriment from his spot on the ground. She offered him her hand to help him up and said, “Dancing is definitely not one of your talents.” She chuckled.

“Yeah, but at least I try.” He replied, sobering up. He pulled himself up with her help and stood so close that Olivia had to tilt her head up to look him in the eye.

She knew he was referring to Jacob and was going to defend her date when Eric’s face grew closer and his lips touched hers before she could pull away.

The memory of that night on the train flashed behind her eyes and she jerked away. She was immediately angry with him and slapped him across the face as hard as she could. Her hand stung with the force, but she ignored it.

“How dare you!” She cried and backed into the bench behind her. She nearly fell into it, but she caught herself on the arm rest and righted herself.

“Olivia, I’m sorry, but we both know Jacob isn’t right for you.” He tried to apologize.

Olivia scoffed. “And you are?” She held her hand out to tell him to back off and went back inside without another word.  
***

  
Eric’s cheek stung and so did his heart. He screwed it up bad; he knew he should have waited, but with her face lit up with amusement and the wonderful sound of her laugh enticing him he couldn’t resist the urge to kiss her.

Eric cursed and would have berated himself outside, but he wasn’t allowed to be by himself so he followed her in at a slow pace.

Olivia must have given away her anger, because Linda was waiting for him by the doorway and at seeing his reddened cheek said, “You need to work on your wooing.”

Eric closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “Can we go home? I’m not in the mood to enjoy myself anymore.”

Linda looked at him in sympathy and patted him on the arm. “Sure. Let’s just collect Connor and we can be on our way.”


	14. Chapter 14

Days passed where neither Eric nor Olivia talked to each other, most of their conversations done through Linda or Connor. Every minute of free time she had, Olivia would shut herself up in her room to paint while Eric spent time with Connor, and that night wasn’t any different. She was sitting there, brushing paint purposely across the canvas, when her mother burst into her room and startled her.

“Olivia! You can’t keep doing this, ignoring Eric and… What’s this?” She stopped, staring at the painting of Eric.

Olivia shot out of her chair and covered it with a blanket. “Nothing, mom. What happened to knocking?” She scowled at her mother, embarrassed that she was caught.

It was unkind to barge in on someone without knocking so she never thought to lock her door. Her mother was obviously angry with her to do such a thing.

“Knocking is for people who deserve it. Now let me see that.” Linda replied, trying to grab the cover.

“It’s not finished, don’t!” She cried when Linda got past her and revealed Eric’s face, staring back at them.

Unable to get her mother to leave it alone now, Olivia shut her bedroom door before anyone else could come and see what the commotion was.

“If you’re so pissed off at him, then why are you painting him?” Linda asked confused, her anger subsiding.

Olivia sighed and sat down on her bed. “I don’t know. I started painting one day and that’s what came out; I haven’t been able to stop working on it lately.

Linda sat down next to her. “Do you have feelings for him?”

Olivia scoffed at the optimism in her voice. “I know what you’re doing mom. You’re hoping that I like him so you can get us together.”

“I admit that I want you two to would work things out and be happy together, yes, for your sake and Connor’s. Eric is a good man and I know there’s something between the two of you, and I’m not talking about what happened eight years ago.

“You’ve already wasted a good portion of your adult life being alone because you have baggage and now you’re taking the first man that comes along. I like Jacob, I do, but he’s not right for you.” Linda said.

“You sound like Eric.” Olivia rolled her eyes.

“Well, he’s right. You need someone who makes you want to get up in the morning and live life, not coast through it! Eric challenges you, he doesn’t care about your baggage because it’s his too, and he is SO good looking!”

Olivia laughed, despite her mood. “It sounds like you should marry him, mom.”

“Thirty years ago I did… Sort of.” She replied.

“What?” Olivia was confused. Eric wasn’t born thirty years ago.

“Your father, he was a Dauntless transfer.”

Olivia was shocked. At no point in her childhood did she ever think her father was something other than Amity.

Linda smiled softly before telling her story. “We went to school together. Now we didn’t socialize with each other since we were from different Factions, and it wasn’t until we were 14 that we actually noticed each other,” She explained, “but one day when I was waiting in line in the cafeteria for lunch, a Dauntless girl named Shannon, knocked my tray out of my hands and scattered my lunch all over the floor.

“Everyone in the lunchroom turned to look at the commotion and Grant was ahead of me in line. When he saw me, tears threatening to fall, he gave me his tray of food and sat me down at a nearby table. I watched him pick up my fallen food and throw it out; then he got back in line. Eventually he sat down beside me the entire lunch hour so I could eat in peace and we grew a relationship from that moment on.”

The dreamy look on her face cleared. “He didn’t belong in Dauntless, not with his gentle soul, and he chose to be with me on our choosing day. You and Eric have a similar story as us. You came from different Factions, but you have the same personality, except you’re not in the Faction you should be in.”

Olivia tensed up. Did Eric tell her?

Linda wrapped her in a comforting embrace and said, “I’ve always known that you’re Dauntless, Olivia. Your father and I were very surprised when you chose to stay, but we thought you would tell us why in your own time.”

“It doesn’t matter why I stayed anymore, it’s too late to change it and you can forget about getting me together with Eric.” She said, pulling herself out of the hug and pacing the room.

“Why are you so stubborn?! I swear you got that from your father’s side. If you can’t go to Dauntless then Eric is the closest thing you will get to being with someone that will make you happy. Why can’t you see that?”

“I am not someone’s plaything to be used as they please! He only wants me because he CAN’T have anyone else! Why can’t _you_ see that?!” Olivia shouted.

Linda stilled. “I see.”  
***

  
Eric could hear shouting and went to see what the problem was. The door to the room was closed, but the words came out clear as day when he stood in front of it.

He must have missed the majority of the conversation, but he heard Olivia’s last words and his guts cringed. Anger quickly took over and he stalked back to the living room.

If that’s what she thought of him, then he’ll show her two can play the jealousy game.

The next day Eric was switching from sheering sheep to building a new fence for the cow’s pasture when his chaperone, James, asked him to wait while he grabbed something in the orchard.

There was a young lady with long blonde hair standing by the tree next to Olivia’s and Eric went over to her, taking advantage of his free time.

“Excuse me, could I have a sip of your water?” He asked politely. The girl started when she saw who was talking to her, taking a step back, but smiled at him.

“Sure.” She replied and handed him the bottle, watching him tip it to his lips and swallow a mouthful of water.

He handed it back to her and she said, “I’m Tanya, by the way.”

“Eric.” He returned, glad that she didn’t seem afraid of him as the others were.

“I’ve seen you around, but it’s nice to finally meet you in person.” Tanya flirted, biting her lip as she looked him up and down. Before Olivia, he would have been all over this girl. But for now all he wanted her for was to make Olivia jealous.

“Like wise… You have gorgeous hair.” He said lifting his hand to caress a few strands between his fingers. The afternoon sun warmed them so they felt silky to his touch.

Out of the corner of his eye, he spied Olivia clearly ignoring them, but her head snapped up at Tanya inviting him to join them for a swim after work in the man-made pond they used to water the animals.

One corner of Eric’s mouth lifted in a smile. “That sounds like fun.”  
***

  
As soon as Eric was escorted out of the orchard, Olivia hissed at Tanya. “What the hell was that?!”

“What?” Her friend asked.

Olivia narrowed her eyes at the blond, wondering what she was up to. “You invited Eric to our swim, that’s what. I want to know why?”

“I was just trying to be nice to the guy. It’s what we do.” She said, a sly smirk playing on her lips. “Besides, it looked like he could use a swim to cool off that hot body of his.”

Olivia groaned. “You’re hitting on him aren’t you? I thought you were scared of him.”

“I was, but seeing him at the dance like a normal person and tripping over his own feet made him seem less scary.” Tanya shrugged.

“I don’t think it’s a good idea.” Olivia said.

“Why not? Are you jealous that he might be into me?” She asked.

“No, but I don’t think Lexi would want him around.” She half-lied in return.

“I want to see him without a shirt. Please don’t take this chance away from me.” Tanya pleaded playfully.

“Fine, but it’s your hide if anything goes wrong.” Olivia answered.  
***

  
Evening was beginning to set in when Eric arrived back at the orchard to meet up with the girls. Apparently another one was working in the city that day and would join them when she got back to Amity with dinner in tow.

The pond was quite large and deep to accommodate the Amity population that frequented it during the hot summer months as well as the animals. Trees were planted here and there around the edges to create shade and under one sat Olivia’s other friend with food spread around her.

He could tell she was frightened of him, because as they got closer she stood up and hugged herself like she was cold, but the air was still humid from the scorching day.

“Hey, Lexi. Hope you don’t mind if Eric joins us, Tanya invited him.” Olivia explained to her friend.

“Sure, it’s no problem.” Lexi clearly lied.

“Thanks.” He said to her and sat down between Tanya and Olivia to grab some food.

There were sandwiches, pickles, cheese, apples and strawberries to choose from and they quietly ate until nothing was left. Soon the light died out with the setting sun and they gathered wood for a fire.

“Did anyone bring any matches?” Olivia asked.

When none of the girls answered, Eric said, “I can light it without matches.” He felt around for two good rocks and when he found suitable ones he hit them together to create a spark. It took a few tries, but eventually one caught the kindling and grew into a flame.  
***

  
“You’re very good with your hands, Eric.” Tanya flirted.

“Maybe I can show you what else they can do some time.” He winked at her.

Olivia thought she might puke. The blatant flirting was getting on her nerves. She knew what he was doing and dammit, it was working.

Tanya began undressing. They usually only swam in their underwear when going at night and Eric joined her, but he didn’t stop at his shirt or pants.

“What are you doing, Eric?!” She asked, astonished at the sight of his bare ass before he jogged toward the water.

“Skinny dipping!” He called behind him and dove in.

Tanya giggled and took the rest of her clothes off too and ran after him. Olivia and Lexi looked at each other.

“Are you going to do it?” Lexi asked, nervous.

“Hell, no. I don’t want him to see me naked.” She said, though deep down, she kind of did.

Laughter floated from the water and Olivia worked up the courage to get in too, but with her underwear on. The water was cool on her skin and she felt exhilarated, like she always did when they went night swimming. It was her favorite summer activity, because it allowed her to be a bit wild without many people knowing about it.

Eric and Tanya were playfully splashing each other off to the side, and so Olivia and Lexi stayed on the other. They talked for a good half hour about random things like Lexi’s family, school projects the boys had, etc… Once in a while Olivia’s eye would wander back to the others and marvel at how happy he was to be frolicking in the nude with three women.

He was lucky, to have known that freedom to be wild and rebellious without anyone caring, and she wished she had the chance to know it too.

They had been awfully quiet the last few minutes and she tore her gaze away from Lexi, telling her about an annoying Candor couple looking for marriage counselling, and couldn’t see them right away.

She eventually found them far behind them, wrapped tightly in each other’s arms, making out. One of Tanya’s hands splayed the expansive muscles of his back while the other played with his hair.  
***

  
Eric was surprised when Tanya swam up to him and kissed him during their water fight, but not surprised enough to stop it. It was nice to feel wanted again and he deepened the kiss.

They pulled closer together, her nipples rubbing against his bare chest, and he hardened against her thigh. She let out a moan against his mouth and his hands involuntarily cupped her bottom and lifted her up so her legs wrapped around him.

His member lightly brushed her opening and his blood pulsated throughout his body. He hadn’t had sex in the two weeks since he had been there and the temptation ate at him. He could go home horny with a woman, but no a chance in hell at getting laid, or he could have a willing woman right now while the one he truly cared for swam behind him.

Eric pulled away from the kiss. “I can’t do this. I have feelings for Olivia.” He said so as not to be overheard.

Tanya leaned into him and whispered in his ear, “She doesn’t have to know.” And she stroked his already hard appendage.

He pushed her away hard and swam back to the beach, not listening to her calls to come back. He snatched his clothes from the ground and pulled his pants on. He didn’t bother with his shirt and marched back to the house.

“Eric, wait. You can’t go by yourself.” He heard Olivia say behind him. She must have followed him out of the water, because she was dressed and running after him.

He quickly held his shirt in front of his enlarged crotch to hide it from view and kept going, letting her walk with him in silence.  
***

  
The walk home was quiet and the house was still by the time they got home. Eric threw himself onto the couch and Olivia went to her room wondering what had happened to make him leave like that. He looked like he was having a very good time before then and her thoughts kept her awake.

Half an hour passed and she was nowhere near falling asleep, so figuring that Eric would be asleep by then, she got up for a glass of warm milk.

She crept out of her door and silently made her way to the living area so she wouldn’t wake anyone up, and as she got closer sounds grew louder. There on the couch lay Eric, grunting as he fondled himself in plain sight. Olivia squeaked in surprise, startling him and she turned away when he threw the blanket over himself.

“Geez, why are you doing that here?” She asked, looking behind her to see if they woke anyone up.

“I thought everyone was asleep.” He sat up.

“I was getting something to drink.” She replied. She wanted to get out of there as quickly as possible so she got a glass of water and went back to her room.

Her heart beat fast as she lay in her bed, staring up at her dark ceiling. Now she understood what Tanya was so worked up about. Just watching him made her instantly wet and she wondered if she had a good time with him the first time, would she look forward to more?

Tanya was always talking about sex and how much fun she had doing it. Olivia never believed her though. From her experience it was painful and terrifying, but now she wanted to really know what the difference would be if it was good.

Olivia closed her eyes and imagined the train. _The sky was dark and she swayed with the trains movement, waiting. Then finally someone grabbed the rail and pulled himself in._

_Eric smiled at her; she grinned back, her heart filled to bursting at the sight of him and threw herself into his arms. He kissed her deep and long, pushing her up against the train car wall._

_She wrapped her legs around his waist and she held his head as they kissed, her fingers caressing his bearded cheeks. The hairs tickled her chin, but she didn’t notice because he was slipping his hand underneath her skirt to run up her thigh. She moaned as he kissed her neck, his hand moving to her panties._

Back in her room, she did what her imagined Eric did and slipped a finger under her panties and into her wetness. She stroked and flicked, picturing Eric’s fingers doing it and she moaned into her pillow.

_On the train, she unzipped his pants and caressed his throbbing member out of his boxers. He guided it to her opening and instead of thrusting he eased his way in as his fingers kept her moaning in pleasure._

_He whispered sweet nothings in her ear as he moved, slowly at first and then faster when she begged him to. It wasn’t long before she arched her back, and cried, “I’m going to come.” Eric grunted in reply and thrust deeper, his own orgasm coming on._

Olivia screamed into her pillow with the sudden explosion of pleasure and lay there panting, deciding that she would never doubt Tanya again. A feeling of blissfulness enveloped her and she quickly fell asleep soon after.


	15. Chapter 15

The next day when Eric woke up he knew that what he did with Tanya the night before was a bad decision. Thankfully he couldn’t go through with it, because if she ever did fall for him, no girlfriend ever liked it when you slept with their friends, no matter if it was before you went out.

No, this time he was going to try something different. He would play on her Dauntless and Amity sides; games seemed to be a common denominator and so he came up with a plan.

The next couple of days Olivia and Linda stayed out late to help organize the food for the Faction drop off that weekend and Eric used the time to organize his own operation with the help of Connor.

The kid was fascinated by his knowledge of the city and its workings, often asking questions about it. Most of Connor’s input into the plan was information about his mother that Eric could use to get her to open up.

Then finally the day came and Eric wore his old black Dauntless clothing. They felt strange to him, heavy and abrasive, but familiar too, and he slipped into Olivia’s bedroom.

The clock on the bedside table said 11 pm and its’ owner was fast asleep underneath the covers. He covered her mouth with his hand and whispered in her ear when she jerked awake.

“Shh, it’s me. Don’t freak out, I just want to show you something.”

Her eyes narrowed at him through the dark, and she pulled his hand away from her face. “What do I need to see in the middle of the night?”

“We’re going to go on an adventure. Here.” He said and tossed a bundle of clothing at her. She caught it and opened it up to reveal a black shirt and black pants.

“Where did you get this?” She asked, inspecting the shirt.

“Connor smuggled it in for me. Apparently his girlfriend has an older sister your size.” He said quietly, leaning against the wall waiting.

“Girlfriend?!” She cried.

Eric hushed her. “He’s 8, it probably won’t last long. Hurry up. We want to get there before the guard change.”

“Where are we going?” She frowned at him.

“You’ll find out when we get there, so let’s go.” He said, getting impatient. His plan wouldn’t work if they were late.  
***

Olivia was curious as to what he was up to and couldn’t supress the excitement at doing something different, so she changed her clothes under the blankets and pulled her hair into a ponytail.

They snuck out the house successfully and jogged to the gate. Eric checked his watch for the time and waited a minute or two before punching in a code on the keypad. Only the Dauntless had the code for the gate and being ex-leader obviously allowed him to have access to them.

Olivia held her breath, worried that they probably changed them since he had left and let it out when the light turned green. “How did you know it would still work?”

“Max has a bad memory, he never changes anything.” He said and pushed her through the opening.

The guards on the other side were gone, clearly for the changeover that Eric mentioned, and they passed through undetected. They made their way to the train and waited for it to arrive.

Twenty minutes they hid behind a bush and Olivia’s legs began to cramp. “How much longer?” She asked.

“I don’t know. I never bothered to learn the train schedule.” He whispered back.

She rolled her eyes at him and went back to waiting. So far this was a boring adventure.

Finally the train came and they ran after it. She wasn’t surprised to find it empty; given that it was really late, and being alone with him on the train brought back two distinct memories for her. She scooted closer to the door and leaned against the wall, eyeing him up.

Eric stood across from her looking out the window, so she got a good look at his profile. He looked intimidating in his Dauntless clothing, very much the leader he used to be, with his wide stance and stern expression. Except when he turned to look at her, his eyes softened.

“Our stop is coming up soon.” He said. She nodded and readied herself for the jump.

They were at the old Navy Pier. Olivia gazed, open mouthed, at the rundown carnival. It was a place she always wished she could visit, but didn’t think she would get the chance to since she never left Amity. With Eric though, she felt safe. He was one of the men she was hiding from after all.

Tattered cloth blew in the wind and metal rides creaked once in a while as she followed Eric through the decrepit park. He often pointed out cameras they needed to avoid and they found their way to an old carousel.

Eric flipped a switch in a panel box by the entrance and the night quickly lit up with lights and music as the ride began to turn. Olivia was speechless, just looking at everything about it, the different horses that circled mirrored panels in the middle of the ride, and the beautiful carvings along the trim of the roof.

“How did you know it would still work?” She finally asked.

Eric jumped onto the ride and she followed him on. “We have war games here for the initiates every year, and one time someone accidently turned it on. We eventually checked out the others and they work too.”

Olivia picked a beautiful white horse with a golden mane and climbed onto it. Eric sat down on the one next to her. It was blue with a snarling face and a black mane. It suited him.

“What is a war game?” She wanted to know more about Dauntless. It sounded wonderful that they could come here any time they wanted and play around.

“Two teams each get a flag and they have to hide it where the other team can’t find it. Whoever finds the other team’s flag first, wins. There’s a lot of shooting involved too.”

Olivia was shocked. “You let initiates shoot each other?!”

Eric laughed. “Not with real guns. We use paintball guns. They hurt, but they won’t injury you. That way they can experience what it’s like to be in a gun fight and practice their shooting and strategy skills.”

That made sense. So that’s what she missed out on by not going through Dauntless initiation.

“What else do they do for initiation?”

Eric looked down at his hands. “Learn to fight, when they pass that they face their fears in a simulation.”

“What were your fears?”

He looked back up at her and a smirk played on his lips. “You’re getting ahead of me. I actually wanted to play a game with you where we ask each other questions, so we can get to know each other better. The only rule is to be honest.” He said.

_What could it hurt?_ Olivia thought and nodded in agreement.

“Ok, so what were my fears?” She watched him contemplate it. “I had 10, being weak was one, becoming Factionless was another, but I’ve already realized that fear so it might be gone. Spiders, hate them. Hmmm, it’s been a long time since I’ve been through a fear simulation, I might not remember them all. Dying, becoming deformed, failure… I don’t think I know the others anymore.”

“How can you not remember your own fears? I certainly know mine.” She asked.

“We know about the ones that we deal with on a regular basis, like spiders, but the fear serum goes deep into your sub consciousness to reveal ones that you don’t know about, like weakness. I never actually realized I was afraid of it before my simulation.”

“Why are you afraid of being weak?”

“Being weak usually means failure, another one of my fears, and that could mean I wouldn’t survive in Dauntless. I became physically strong to beat my opponents and emotionally cut off so nothing would distract me.

“But it didn’t help me be first in the class. Four, a stiff from Abnegation, kept beating me and it pissed me off. After we passed, a leader position opened up and we were both invited to try out for it. I was smarter than him because I had come from Erudite, but he wasn’t far behind and I knew that if I had anything against me then he would get the position instead of me. That’s why when we met you on the train I listened to Ralph. I couldn’t risk anyone calling me a coward. I’m sorry.” He said, apologetically.

“Hmm… I guess it’s your turn.” She said, understanding his side of the situation better.

Eric didn’t ask her anything right away and sat there looking like he was searching for the right question. She felt apprehensive about playing. Would he ask something incredibly personal?

“What’s your favorite color?” He finally asked, and Olivia smiled in relief.

“Purple. Yours?”

“Black.”

“You do know that black isn’t a real color, right?”

“It depends on who you’re talking to.” He said.

“Fine. What’s your favorite food?” She asked, continuing the game.

“Dauntless chocolate cake.” He sighed. “I miss it so much.”

She laughed. “I’m sorry, I can’t help you out there. Mine’s chicken primavera.”

Eric pursed his lips in thought. “Best childhood memory?”

Olivia had to think for a bit, and she stared off at the stars in the sky. Coming up with one, she slowly began talking. “My dad. When I was twelve, he took me to the city with him on a delivery and we had lunch on this old bridge, feet dangling off the side and we looked out over the dried up river. We ended up staying there for hours and we watched the sun go down. It was the best sunset I had ever seen. How about you?”

“I was Connor’s age, and I had run away for the millionth time.” Eric shared. “My parents weren’t the most loving of people. Learning always came first in our household.” He explained.

“But that particular time was when I ran into a Dauntless man climbing up to the train platform near the Hub and I watched him run like the wind to catch the train when it came and he hauled himself inside just before the platform dropped off and he could have fell to his death. It looked like so much fun that I wanted to be Dauntless ever since.” He said.

_What could be more important than a child?_ She wondered. No wonder he left his parents when he had the chance to. “Why are you so good with Connor, if your parents were so neglectful?” She asked, curious where he learned it from.

“I don’t know, maybe it’s because he’s such a great kid, he makes it easy. I wish I hadn’t missed so much of his life though. What was it like to raise him as a baby?” He asked her, shifting his weight on the horse.

“Well, he cried a lot. It was months before I got any sleep, but my mom was around to help me out.” She shrugged. “When he was old enough to eat solids, she always made him breakfast so I could sleep in since Connor always woke up in the middle of the night.

“And like most Amity mothers, I strapped him to my back so I could work when he was small because he slept most of the time, and I could feed him whenever he was hungry. Then when he got too big for that, I would put a blanket on the ground and let him play. Most of the others would take breaks and play with him too.

“Lexi was newly married and pregnant, so soon Connor had a friend and they would chase each other around while we worked until school started.”

“Have you ever thought about having more kids?”

The question made her feel immediately uncomfortable, but he seemed genuinely curious and not implying anything. “I would like to have two more, but I’m not sure it will happen. Maybe with Jacob.” She shrugged.

“You’re still thinking about marrying that guy?” Eric crossed his arms over his chest, but still kept his balance on the horse that rose and fell continuously.

“Yes.” She curtly replied.

Eric just stared at her for a moment and then said, “You should hold out for love.”

“What makes you think I don’t love him?” She asked, tearing her eyes away from him.

“The fact that you can’t ask me that while looking me in the eye does.”

“Well, it’s none of your business how I feel about Jacob.” She said, still staring out at the dark buildings that whipped past them.

“He sees the same thing in you that I do, you know.” Eric said after a few seconds of silence.

“Yeah and what’s that?” She asked, finally looking at him again.

“A beautiful girl who thinks she’s damaged goods, so is willing to settle.” He explained.

“Are you just saying that so I won’t want to be with him?” She was annoyed now.

“No, I said it because it’s true. You should be with me.”

“I’m not interested in being with you, Eric. So, if you really have feelings for me, then you will do what’s best and leave me alone.” She stared him down.

“I’m what’s best for you.” He pushed.

“Fine, then you will respect what I _want_.” She countered.

They sat in silence for a while. Olivia was irritated that he couldn’t leave well enough alone when they were having a nice time and she shivered. They had been out there for a couple of hours now and the air was cooling down.

“We should probably get back. It’s getting late and I’m cold.” She suggested, not really wanting to say anything to him at all.

“We can’t. The next guard change isn’t until 8 am.” He said.

“What?! My mom and Connor will be up before we get home. They are going to freak out when they realize we’re gone!” She panicked.

“Connor knows where we are. He’ll tell Linda before she can tell people I’ve abducted you to have my way with you.” He said dryly. He got off the horse and beckoned her to follow him and she did.

They weaved their way through the horses to a bench that sat ornately carved, crowded by the moving horses and Eric sat down.

“We can keep warm here.” He said.

Olivia didn’t budge.

“Come on, I won’t assault you. But if you’d rather stand there and be cold, then be my guest.” He said and sprawled out.

She glared at him, but sat down anyway. Eric shifted over and casually slung his arm around her shoulders to pull her in close. Olivia was rigid against him, but his body produced a large amount of heat and she thawed into relaxation next to him.

“I have another question for you.” She said, looking up at him.

“Shoot.” He replied, casually.

“Why did you leave the pond in such a hurry? From what I could tell, you and Tanya were having a good time. You could have finished what you started with her instead of masturbating on my couch.”

She could feel his body get tense. “What makes you think it was her I was thinking of while I jerked off?”

“Hmmm… Well I’m sure she would have slept with you even if you were using her to make me jealous.”

“You knew?”

Her eyebrow rose at him. “Dauntless aren’t the only ones who use that tactic. Tanya’s been used by many men to try and make another girl jealous, but she never seems to mind. In fact I think she likes it, it lets her sleep with men without strings attached.”

Eric breathed in deeply, and Olivia could feel his chest expand underneath her. “It was a mistake, and one that won’t happen again. I want you to know that you can trust me and I came too close to ruining that with her.”

Olivia didn’t know what to say to that so she remained quiet and watched the horses bob up and down in front of her. Eventually the rhythmic movements and Eric’s comfortable embrace lulled her to sleep.


	16. Chapter 16

Olivia woke up with a start. The sun shone brightly in her eyes and she blinked rapidly against it. Beside her, Eric snored with his head back against the bench, and his left arm slack over her shoulder.

His watch was positioned perfectly in front of her so she could see it and she flung his arm away from her in a hurry. He was startled awake by the sudden movement.

“We have to go if we want to get back to the gate in time. It’s 7:22 am.” She said and rushed off the moving ride, going the way they came to avoid the cameras.

If they didn’t get back before the guards, then they would have to wait another eight hours for the next change and hope they didn’t get caught. Amity is not allowed to wear black and it would be a problem if they tried to cross back wearing it. But Olivia was pulled back by the arm in between two old carnival games and she spun around to look at Eric, who gripped her arm gently.

“We won’t make it. The train ride is at least half an hour and its day light, they’ll see us on the cameras. We’ll have to wait until nightfall again.” He explained.

“This isn’t how I planned on spending our day off.” She said uneasily.

Being in the city at night was one thing, but during the day her chances of running into the other two increased substantially. She eyed up her large companion and decided that maybe he could fend off two attackers on his own and relaxed.

“What will we do about food? I’m starving.” She said resigned to the fact that they had to stay.

“Since I’m technically Factionless, I suppose we could get some food from them or… We could break into Dauntless and get some cake.” He grinned mischievously.

Olivia sighed in amusement and shook her head. “No, I think I’ve done enough sneaking around for now.”

“Alright, the Factionless it is.” Eric said and pointed in another direction. “We go that way.”

Fifteen minutes later they were in a badly rundown area of the city. Roads were pot marked and littered, the buildings had broken windows and pieces of brick and stone fell from the walls to lay scattered about the sidewalk.

People warmed their hands over trash cans of fire or lay on beds of newspapers, and every person turned to watch them make their way down the street.

Murmurs grew into loud talking behind them and then shouting. Someone called into the building to their right and a large group of rough looking people stepped outside and in their path.

A man as burly as Eric crossed his arms over his chest and glared at Eric. “Finally grew the balls to come here, have you?” He said. His voice was raspy and deep.

Eric tensed and straightened his posture. He glared right back at the shorter man. “We don’t want any trouble, Tony.”

Tony barked out a laugh, his mouth a small line in the midst of a scraggy black beard. “No trouble? How can you possibly think you could come here without getting your ass handed to you after kicking so many of us out of Dauntless?”

“I didn’t kick you out, it was protocol. You had your choice, death or Factionless, and you were too much of a coward to pick the brave way to go.” His voice sounded calm, but Olivia could see his hand clenching at his side.

“Doesn’t look like you did either.” Tony remarked.

Eric glanced at Olivia. “I had a reason to stay alive.”

“Yeah, we heard they let you live a pretty nice life in Amity. It must be nice to get special treatment for being a leader. Was it so boring that you had to sneak out to hook up with your Dauntless girlfriend?” He asked, indicating Olivia in her black clothing.

Olivia opened her mouth to protest, but Eric pushed her behind him and said, “Look, we just wanted to get some food and be on our way.”

Olivia grew nervous when a look of outrage appeared on their faces and Tony waltzed up to Eric and jabbed him in the chest with his finger. “What makes you think you have a right to _our_ food?”

Eric didn’t budge from the minor assault and glared down at the man. With quick reflexes he snatched Tony’s finger from the air and twisted his arm behind his back hard; Tony cried out in pain.

“I’m factionless too, whether you accept it or not and I want my ration of food.” He said harshly into the man’s ear and tugged harder on the arm causing Tony to shout in pain.

A few of the others inched closer to help their friend and Eric shot them a glare before they could get any closer. No one moved after that and waited for Tony’s answer.

“Alright, fine!” He finally cried out. Eric let him go and he backed away, rubbing his injured arm.

A couple of cans were tossed at her and Olivia quickly caught them before they could smash into the ground at her feet. She followed Eric’s retreating form back to the main road; often glancing back to make sure no one followed them.

Once they were safely away she asked, “What was all that?”

Eric slowed his pace. “They’re pissed at me for enforcing Dauntless law.”

He must have seen her confused expression, because he explained. “In Dauntless when an Initiate doesn’t pass to become a full member they become Factionless, and in many cases, they choose to kill themselves instead. To us, it’s the brave thing to do. Same thing happens when you’ve run your usefulness and can no longer do your job. Most Factionless members used to be Dauntless and I was the one who forced many of them to leave.”

She was speechless. How could a Faction abandon its’ members like that? And she said so.

Eric sighed. “It’s just the way it is. Factions are as strong as their weakest link and being a physical Faction, physical weakness is unwanted. Age and injuries play a major part in that.”  
***

Eric could tell she was pissed at the Dauntless rules, even though she didn’t say anything about it and they kept walking. He wanted to make new good memories with her now that they were in each other’s lives, so he was taking her to the same bridge her father did. The walk from the Factionless sector to the bridge took a good hour and Olivia stopped when they reached it.

“How did you know it was this bridge?”

Eric looked back at her and smirked. “I took a guess. Come on, I’m starving and I want to eat whatever’s in those cans.”

They sat down side by side, feet dangling over the edge and each took a can. Olivia had sliced peaches and Eric got baked beans. Both cans had an easy peel lid; they popped them off and passed the cans back and forth, digging out food with their fingers.

Eric swallowed the last slippery peach and wiped the juice that ran down his chin with the back of his hand. He felt sticky and out of the corner of his eye he could see Olivia looking around for water to rinse her hands off with. She obviously felt the same and having nothing else to clean them with, she wiped them on the leg of her pants; Eric copied her. No wonder the Factionless were always so dirty.

The sun was rising higher behind them and he could feel the heat warming his back; it was promising to be another hot day. Now that breakfast was over, he wasn’t sure what to do to waste time. It was only 9:30 in the morning and they still had 14 ½ hours to wait before they could get back to Amity.

Olivia leaned back on her elbows and stared off at the wall far off in the distance, the dried cracked earth of the dry river floor between it and them.

“Do you guys ever fight anything out there?” She asked indicating the wall.

Eric leaned back too. “Not really, only wild animals that come too close because they can’t find food farther out.” He shrugged.

“Can you teach me some moves?” She asked, surprising him.

With an eyebrow raised he said, “You sure?”

She nodded, turning to look at him. He could see a glint of excitement in her eyes and agreed. He brushed off the dust from his ass when he got up and waited for her to join him.

He would start her off by showing her to throw a good punch. It was good for protection as well as taking your anger out on someone who was pissing you off.

He showed her how to spread her legs to the right distance to keep her balance and the positions her arms should be in by showing her with his own body.

She was right handed so her left would be covering her face while the other struck out. He twisted his upper body, hitting an invisible person and then waited for her to copy him.

It was a feeble attempt at best. Her legs were too close together so he put his leg between hers and pushed her feet farther apart, adjusting her arms at the same time. He then slid his hands against her abdomen and back and showed her the proper way to twist, ignoring her protests.

A wisp of her hair blew in the breeze and tickled his cheek, faintly smelling of mixed berries and he reluctantly backed away. She tried again and it was much better, but with nothing around for her to hit safely, he couldn’t gage how much strength she had to put into it.

“Good. Now I want you to hit me.” He said, preparing himself for the attack.

Olivia took a step back and lowered her arms. “Why?”

“You have to practice on something so you know if you will be able to do any damage, and I’m the softest thing around.” He replied, indicating the hard cement ground and metal railings around them.

When she didn’t make a move, he said, “If you’re worried about hurting me, I can tell you that I’ve been hit plenty by people bigger than you.”

She narrowed her eyes at him and threw her arm out at his face, but she swung wildly and missed; she staggered forward from the momentum and Eric caught her with a chuckle.

She shoved herself away from him and scowled. “Don’t laugh at me.”

“I’m sorry.” He said trying to stifle his laughter. “But that was terrible.”

“Screw you, Eric.” She began walking away.

“Hey, wait! Every transfer is terrible on their first try.” He smiled at her in amusement, jogging after her. “Just try again.”

“Why? So you can make fun of me some more? Is this how you trained your initiates?” She turned with her hands on her hips.

Eric’s smile faded. “No, it’s not. Trust me this is way better than if I was in Dauntless training you.”

The anger around the edges of her eyes lessened. “What were you like then?” She asked, curious.

Eric sighed and turned away from her. He wasn’t sure if he wanted her to know she was right about him being a jerk or not… Well if she was going to want him then she might as well want all of him.

“I was cruel. I mocked them without humor and embarrassed them. I pushed them harder than I had to, for the sake of looking good as a leader. The better the initiates were, the better my training looked.”

“Were they better?” Her voice asked quietly behind him.

“Yes, but they were more savage. I could’ve done it differently and had better initiates too, but I didn’t.” He replied, looking out across the dry river, his hands gripping the railing.

Suddenly his hand was covered by hers and he looked at her. She was biting her lip and her eyebrows were puckered in thought, but her eyes held his steady.

“That was the past.” Was all she said and she let him entwine his fingers with hers and they stood there for a time just looking out, holding hands.


	17. Chapter 17

The next day Olivia was tired. She and Eric had made it back to Amity the night before and went to bed, but the adrenaline from sneaking around kept her awake and she tossed and turned most of the night.

Now they were both back to work and she was again on top a ladder, picking ripe peaches off the branches, but her mind was on yesterday.

Eric seemed so vulnerable when he talked about his time in Dauntless and she knew what it was like to pretend to be something you’re not. He clearly regretted his past and he needed comfort, so she gave it to him.

It was nice to just be with him, without arguing or needing to say anything. She realized after coming home that in that moment his presence eased her soul; she didn’t have to pretend with him and it felt good.

Damn him and her mother for being right. She knew he was the one and it terrified her. She longed for his touch, but pretending was different than the real thing. She wasn’t ready. Jacob was the safe way to go. He didn’t excite her like Eric did and he wouldn’t force her into intimacy if she didn’t want to unlike Eric who did daily with his little touches and sudden kisses.

She didn’t know what to do. Should she take the safe path or the rocky path full of fear and danger?  
***

Eric’s shirt was soaked with sweat. It was a mild day that day, but the hard work of sawing wood and hammering them into the ground was physically taxing.

It was after noon and Linda had just left with her usual basket of goodies from lunch and a good scolding to go with the one she gave him and Olivia that morning for scaring the crap out of her with their absence, when someone else approached him.

Eric groaned when he realized it was Tanya. She wore an ankle length light yellow sundress and a flimsy hat that she had to hold onto so the breeze wouldn’t blow it away. Her sandaled feet stopped beside him and she smiled sheepishly.

“Hey.” She said.

“What can I do for you Tanya?” He asked without stopping his work.

“I just wanted to say that I’m sorry about the other night. I shouldn’t have tried to push you into anything.” She apologized.

“Thanks.” He replied, hammering in another post.

“You must really like her.” She said over the sound of his pounding.

Eric stopped to look at her. He rested his arm on the top of the post and leaned on it. “Yeah, I do.”

Tanya smiled softly. “She’s really lucky then. Most guys just want to take the easy way and make the girls come to them by sleeping with me, but you took the hard way and went to her. Dauntless really are brave.”

He was about to say thanks when a scream pierced the air. Eric immediately dropped his hammer and ran towards it, not caring that he was breaking the rules by leaving James, his escort, behind.  
***

Olivia heard a scream, but it took a minute for her sleep deprived brain to register it and when she looked up over the tree branches, she saw a group of people running towards the outer limit and far ahead of them was Eric, running like the wind.

Her gaze followed the path he was headed in and saw a black bear attacking a teenaged boy. She sucked in a cry of horror and watched as Eric grabbed a large stick from the ground and shouted at the animal to get its’ attention.

It took a few stabbings, but the bear eventually left the boy and focused in on Eric. The others who were hovering at a decent distance quickly ran in and pulled the boy to safety.

From her perch she could see that his clothing was covered in blood and as he was carried away the others in the orchard ran to help, but she was rooted where she was, worried about Eric.

Olivia watched as he circled the bear, his stick at the ready in his hands. The large animal roared with ferocity and swiped at Eric’s head, but he ducked in time and continued his path around the animal, careful to keep out of its’ reach.

Her breath was stuck in her throat and her knuckles turned white from the grip she had on the ladder, but she didn’t even notice. It seemed like forever until Eric managed to find an opening and he thrust his impromptu spear at the bear’s chest. It hit, but it must not have gone all the way in, because he began to push with all his strength, leaning his whole body into it; the bear crying in anguish until finally the bear fell backwards and went silent. After a final push to make sure the animal was dead, Eric backed up and fell down himself.

Olivia crawled down her ladder as quickly as she could and ran to him. He was panting heavily when she got to him and a crowd of people, who came late, gathered to stare in awe at the scene.

Two men helped pick Eric up and she followed them to the Amity doctor’s office. The doctor didn’t find any physical damage on him, but he was experiencing chest pain and shortness of breath from the stress, so they laid him down with a blanket and let him rest.

That evening when Eric was feeling better, Joanna held a meeting to inform the community of what happened.

“I want to thank everyone for joining us tonight on such short notice.” She said loudly to be heard over the sound of the crowd. Once it was quiet she continued, “I know that everyone wants to know about the incident this afternoon and I have details for you, but first, we want to send our condolences to the Martin family. We pray that their son Roger makes a full recovery.” She said.

Olivia’s heart tugged sorrowfully for them. If it was her son, she would be hysterical and she knew Patty probably was at the hospital right then. She snaked her arm around Connor’s shoulders and pulled him closer to her.

“Roger was unfortunately a victim this afternoon of a bear attack. He was on his way back to work from lunch when he encountered a stray black bear that wandered past the Dauntless guards and saw him. He has suffered heavy blood loss and is being treated at the Erudite hospital. We will keep everyone up to date on his recovery and I would like us all to take a moment of silence in honor of him.” Joanna said taking the hands of the people closest to her and everyone followed.

Eric, who was fully recovered from the earlier trauma, stood beside Olivia and she took his hand. They bowed their heads in silence for a minute and raised them again when Joanna began to speak.

“I would also like to acknowledge Eric for his brave act in defending Roger. Without him, Roger would have died and the bear loose to do more harm.” She said, looking at him from across the room.

Everyone around them turned to him as well and bowed their heads to him in respect. Olivia suddenly realized that he was a hero and she squeezed his hand to show him her thanks as well.  
***

Eric was full of pride that he was Dauntless and that they no longer feared him for it, including Olivia and he looked down at her when she squeezed his hand.

“I believe he has earned our trust and in thanks for his heroic act, I would like to give Eric free reign of Amity, on everyone’s approval.” Joanna suggested.

He looked up in surprise to see everyone in the room raising their hands in agreement, including his family. This was the fastest Amity voting he had ever seen and acceptance swelled up within him. The meeting quickly came to an end and everyone silently filed out of the building and went home.  
***

Olivia was getting ready for bed when she passed Connor’s room and heard loud voices. Eric was putting him to bed and she peered around the doorway to see what was going on.

Eric and Connor both lay down on the bed, sitting up against the pillows and Eric was reading a book. He had a different voice for each character that made Connor giggle at his funniness and she couldn’t help but feel affection at the sight of them. They were so engrossed in the book that they didn’t notice her standing there and not wanting to interrupt father - son time, she went to her mother’s room and knocked on the door.

“Can I come in?” She asked when Linda opened the door.

Linda moved out of the way to let her in and Olivia sat down on the bed.

“I think we should let Eric have a bed now. He’s earned it. Do you mind sharing with me?”

Linda’s mouth quirked a little at the side. “Are you sure you don’t want him to share with you?”

Olivia rolled her eyes at her and sighed. “I don’t want to do this right now. It’s been a long and devastating day and I need a good sleep.”

Linda sat down next to her and patted her knee. “You’re right. Eric can have my room. Let me just get some clothes for tomorrow and I’ll be right there.” She got up and began rummaging through her drawers. Olivia got up to find Eric.

Connor’s door was closed, so she went to the living room to see if he was there instead. Eric was taking his shirt off in preparation of sleep and she cleared her throat to catch his attention. He turned his head toward her and draped his shirt over the arm of the couch. The light caught the edges of his muscles and pronounced them. She stared in amazement, remembering that those muscles took down a bear earlier.

She cleared her throat again, but this time so she wouldn’t squeak when she spoke, “You don’t have to sleep on the floor anymore. My mom is letting you have her room from now on.”

Surprise showed on his face and he picked his shirt back up before walking up to her. He was so close that she could rest her hands on his chest if she wanted to, but she stood still.

“Wouldn’t it be easier if I shared with you? I don’t want to kick her out, only to have her move back later.” He said, stroking her hand with his thumb.

Olivia swallowed and whispered. “I haven’t chosen between you and Jacob yet.”

Eric dropped her hand. “I see.” He backed up and she felt like crying at the hurt look on his face.

She wanted to apologize and explain to him that it wasn’t him, it was her, but he didn’t give her a chance because he left and closed Linda’s door behind him. Olivia sat down heavily on the couch and cried.


	18. Chapter 18

Eric punched the pillow on the bed repeatedly to let out his frustration.

God, how she annoyed him sometimes! He actually thought they were getting somewhere and now she can’t make up her mind?! If she liked him, then why the hell would she still be considering Jacob? To him, it just didn’t make sense.

He threw himself back onto the bed and stared up at the ceiling. The bed was comfortable compared to the floor, but he wasn’t the least bit tired now. He laid there for a while longer in hopes of falling asleep, but eventually gave up and went to get a glass of water.

Eric was startled to see Olivia still on the couch, sound asleep and hugging the pillow. He assumed she had gone to bed pissed off at him for making another move, but he could see the dried tear tracks that lined her cheek when he bent to peer down at her.

He ran his thumb across her exposed cheek to rub away the evidence of her emotions, not caring if he woke her up, and his anger ebbed away. Apparently the decision was a difficult one for her.

He draped the blanket he normally used over her slumbering body and retrieved the blanket and pillow from Linda’s room, and got cozy on the floor beside the couch so she wouldn’t be alone.  
***

Olivia woke up to someone nudging her. She cracked an eye open and found her mother standing over her. She sat up and looked around confused.

When she opened her mouth to ask why she was on the couch, Linda put her finger to her mouth to tell her to be quiet and pointed to the other side of Olivia. She followed her finger and saw Eric asleep on the floor, his right arm flung over his eyes and his mouth open slightly in a snore. He had come back and she melted a little inside.

Linda waved for Olivia to follow her and she crawled over Eric’s sleeping form to follow her mother to the bedroom. She closed the door behind her with a yawn and sat down on the bed.

“When I woke up to an empty bed, I got worried. Why were you both sleeping out there?” Linda asked, sitting next to her.

“Oh mom, I don’t know what I’m doing anymore!” She covered her face with her hands in embarrassment and frustration.

“What do you mean? What happened?” Linda asked, worried.

“Ugh… As you’re well aware, Eric has made his feelings known and I’ve been trying to avoid him, but the last few days with him have been good and I like him, but I told him I wasn’t sure if I would choose him over Jacob and he looked so hurt, he left and I fell asleep crying on the couch.” She explained.

“Why would you do such a thing? Of course you should pick Eric!” Linda exclaimed, confused by her actions.

“Mom, if you were… Oh, this is embarrassing…” She rubbed her temples. “If you were raped, would you be comfortable having sex ever again?”

Linda made a sound of understanding and wrapped her in a hug. They pulled apart and Linda said, “That would be a problem, but how does that influence your decision?”

Olivia cringed. “Because! I want Eric, but I _can’t_. Jacob would be much easier to avoid, because there’s no hypnotic pull to him.”

“I know exactly what you mean. That man is so sexy, if I was your age, I would be ripping his clothes off all the time.” She said.

“Mom! This isn’t a joke.” Olivia scolded.

“I know, hunny. But I’m sure Eric would understand if you told him, he could help you get over it.” She said.

“How would he do that?” She asked.

It was Linda’s turn to be uncomfortable. “You know, by gradually touching and stuff. I certainly can’t help you with that.” She said and added, “I have noticed that you’re okay with him being close now and light touches. How did that happen?”

“By being forced to endure it, like when you shoved us in the bed together when we got caught in the rain and him purposely touching me on the hand or arm.” Olivia replied.

“Hmm, well maybe that’s your answer.”

“Forcing myself to sleep with him will cure me, is that it?” Olivia asked, angry at her advice.

“Well, it’s that or never get married, because you certainly can’t have a relationship without sex.” Her mother replied curtly.

Olivia curled up in a ball on the bed and cried, “Oh, God. What am I gonna do?!”

Linda leaned over and urged her to lie down under the covers. “You haven’t said yes to either yet, so get some sleep and worry about it tomorrow.”

She did as she was told and fell asleep to the sound of her mother humming and the feel of fingers playing with her hair, the way she used to fall asleep after a nightmare when she was little.  
***

Eric woke up earlier than anyone else and realized that Olivia wasn’t there with him. It was still dark out, but it was too late to go back to sleep, so for the extra half hour he decided to take advantage of his newfound freedom and go for a run.

He quickly got dressed and left the house. The cool night air felt refreshing on his skin and he took a deep breath before taking off at a brisk pace. He pretended he was running through the city streets in the early morning like he did before his shifts as a Leader, when he could unwind and be himself. It felt wonderful to be alone again, to breathe and think without anyone interrupting him.

He thought about what he would do if Olivia chose Jacob. Maybe he would take his chances with the Factionless, or maybe he could get Joanna to plead his case to Max so he could go back to Dauntless. But just thinking of going to either one filled him with a feeling of emptiness.

He would be utterly alone if he left Amity. Here he had people who cared about him; over there was nothing but fear and hatred, and Connor would be devastated.

No, he would stay no matter who she chose. The thought of scaring Jacob into backing off entered his mind, but he quickly pushed it away, he wanted to win fair and square.

He circled back and as he got closer to the house he could hear someone calling his name. Olivia was searching all around the house frantically, calling for him and when she saw him, she breathed in relief.

“What’s the matter?” He asked, slowing down to a walk.

“We thought maybe you had left Amity, because of what I said.” She explained, clearly fighting back tears.

He pulled her in for a hug and kissed the top of her head. She obviously liked him enough to let him hold her. “I’m not going anywhere.” He mumbled into her hair.

She felt warm in his arms, her back pulsing with each sniffle she made. He didn’t want to cause her pain; he wanted to make her forget about Jacob and her decision. He knew he would be risking pushing her away, but he was confident she had feelings for him now and he tilted her head up and he leaned down for a kiss.

Her lips where soft and warm, unresisting when he made contact, and when she didn’t pull away, he deepened it. Joy soared through him, and he entwined his fingers in her hair and gently pulled her head back to break the kiss and he kissed a trail down her neck. She moaned quietly, the vibration in her throat felt underneath his lips.

Urged on, he cupped her bottom and lifted her up so she wrapped her legs around him and his pants became too tight. He was so busy enjoying the feel of her velvety skin that he didn’t notice her sound of pleasure had turned into fear.

She pushed at him, loosening herself enough that she fell out of his grasp and landed in a heap on the ground. “I’m sorry Eric!” She wailed, and quickly got up and ran away from him and the house.

It finally dawned on him why she ran from him and he silently cursed; running a hand through his hair.  
***

Olivia ran. It didn’t matter where as long as it was far away from him. Memories coursed through her and she heaved with a sob and stumbled, her vision blurred with tears.  
***

Linda was worried when Olivia didn’t come home by the time they left for work and so was he, but he knew she just needed time. Time he was willing to give her.

The day was long and Eric was anxious to get home to see if Olivia was okay, but she wasn’t there and fear spiked through him. Linda and Connor arrived shortly after him and he asked if Linda had seen her.

“No, but Lexi came and told me that Olivia was at her house and was going to stay for the night.” She answered. He relaxed a little. At least he knew she was safe.

Linda regarded him for a moment, but didn’t say anything, though she looked sadly curious. He knew she was wondering what he did to her daughter, but he didn’t want to tell her that he emotionally scarred her from sleeping with anyone ever again and then freaked her out by trying to do just that. He turned and left to have a shower to calm his guilt ridden nerves and his tense muscles.


	19. Chapter 19

It was two days before Olivia came home. Eric hadn’t seen her since that morning and now when he came home from work, she was sitting at the dining table with Linda.

They both glanced up at his arrival, but Olivia quickly looked away and he didn’t know what to say. Hello and saying he was glad she was back seemed awkward, so he kept quiet and sat down next to Linda.

“We were just talking about Roger Martin. Joanna said he’s in stable condition now and we were thinking about going to visit. You should come with us; he might like to see his rescuer.” Linda said.

“Sure, it would be nice to go into the city.” He said, watching Olivia for her reaction, but she remained impassive.

“Good, Connor’s staying at Ned’s tonight so we were going to have a quick dinner and go. I just need to get the laundry off the line, if you two want to start dinner.” She said and hurried out the door.

The two of them sat there for a moment in silence. Eric looked at her and frowned at her down turned profile. Was she ever going to speak to him again?

“You know, it’s ok. I didn’t know what I did went that deep, but I understand.” He said, clasping his hands together in front of him on the table.

Olivia looked up at him. “You do?” She seemed surprised.

“Of course I do. It was a traumatic experience and it’s one of your worst fears. If we were in Dauntless right now I’d tell you to face your fear in a simulation, but we’re not so, I guess all I can do is suggest we just be friends until you’re comfortable.” He said, and added as an afterthought, “But you have to promise not to pick Jacob until then, either.”

Her lips twitched upward. “Okay, I promise.”

“Good. Now let’s make some sandwiches.” He stood up and began rummaging through the fridge.

Olivia joined him and pulled out plates and cups, as Eric planted condiments on the counter beside her. She placed a slice of bread on each plate and he put on roast beef. They bumped hands as they crisscrossed and she laughed when he stilled. He was still on edge from scaring her off.

“I think I’m passed cringing at the slightest touch now.” She playfully nudged him with her shoulder. He smiled back in relief and they finished making the sandwiches.

Linda came in with a large basket full of clothes and set it on the ground with a frown. “Sorry guys, I won’t be able to go tonight. Jenny just came by asking for help with her roses, poor things are wilting. If we don’t take care of them tonight they will die.”

“Ok mom, but you should eat first.” Olivia said as she reached for the door.

Linda looked back. “Oh yes, sorry. I’ll just take it with me.” She said and took the sandwich off the plate and left the house.

“Do you believe her?” Eric asked, while sitting down. It wouldn’t be the first time she set them up to be alone.

“She never lies when it comes to flowers.” She replied sincerely. “Mom’s in charge of the flower greenhouse during the winter, so everyone comes to her for help when their flowers start dying.”  
***

Olivia grew nervous as they got closer to the gate, but beside her Eric exuded calm. The guards recognized him, but only asked what their business was and let them through without a problem.

Eric talked her into taking the train again, even though it was still daylight and there was a good chance that Dauntless would be on with them. She told him she was nervous about running into anyone and he promised to push out anyone that came on. With a smile she was about to decline when he reminded her that he had killed a bear and she agreed to it in the end.

It was daylight when they left Amity, but by the time they got off the train, dusk was setting in. The hospital was a few blocks away from the platform and they began to walk, but Olivia couldn’t shake off the feeling that something bad was going to happen and she kept glancing around in hopes to warn Eric ahead of time.

The street they were on didn’t really scream danger though. The road was well paved and clean and the buildings were maintained, but they were also unused so the lights were off and the street was void of people. She inched closer and grabbed Eric’s hand for comfort. They were still a couple of blocks away from the hospital and her anxiety grew with each step.

“Hey, where are you two going?!” Someone shouted to their left and Olivia’s heart jumped into her throat.

Both of them froze, recognizing the voice and turned to look at the man in the shadows. One of the street lamps showed more of him as he stepped closer and they could see the gun he carried in front of his black clothing. It was John, one of the men with Eric on the train that night and his face split into a smile.

“Eric? Hey man! How have you been?!” John asked, happy to see an old friend.

Eric’s hand tightened a fraction. “What are you doing here, John? Weren’t you demoted to janitorial duties?”

John’s smile turned into a sneer. “I was, but now that we’ve a new leader to take your place, he got me reinstated. So here I am.” His eyes traveled over Olivia and widened when he recognized her. A frown appeared when he noticed their hands clasped together.

“Hooking up with the bitch, I see. I don’t blame you though; she’s still a nice piece of ass.” He said leaning to look at her behind. Olivia turned and backed into Eric to obscure John’s view.

“Hey, baby. If you liked your taste of Eric, then maybe you’ll like to try another flavor.” He wiggled his eyebrows crudely at her.

“You stay away from me!” She said with vehemence.

“Now, is that how you should talk to someone with a gun?” He asked, holding up his weapon and pointing it at her.

Eric stepped in front of her and John aimed it at him. “Don’t even think about it, man. That bitch got me demoted. I think I deserve something back from her.” He said to Eric.

“If you so much as breathe on her, I will snap your neck.” Eric glared.

“Yeah? Try it with a bullet in your leg.” He said and pulled the trigger.

Olivia screamed. The sounds of the shot ricocheted of the buildings around them and Eric slid to the ground in pain, holding the wound to staunch the blood.

John grabbed her arm and pulled her away from Eric, dragging her to an alley nearby. Olivia struggled to get away, tears falling, but his grip was too strong and she called out for help. She was slammed against the brick wall and hit her head. It stunned her into silence, stars dancing in her vision, and she could hear Eric shouting after them in the distance.

She was so dazed that she felt, rather than saw, John rip open the top of her dress, exposing her chest to the night air. He cupped her breasts and kneaded them roughly, his breath hot in her face. She felt disgusting and tried to remember when the last time her period was. Would she get pregnant from this one too?

Suddenly John was ripped away from her and she heard sounds of a struggle and someone gasping for air. She opened her eyes and tried to focus. Eric had John in a choke hold, his arms bulging from the effort to drag him farther away from her and she watched as John’s face turned purple and he stopped struggling.

Eric dropped his friend’s lifeless body and rushed over to her as fast as someone with a bullet in their leg could go. She sobbed into his chest and they both slid to the ground.

“You’re safe now.” He said patting her head.

She shook her head against him. “No, I will never be safe. This is why I never left Amity! I could still run into the other one, Ralph, one day.” She cried, her words almost smothered by his chest. She clung to him as hard as she could. He was the only thing keeping her from complete hysterics.

“That won’t happen.” He said.

“How could you know that?” She asked, unbelieving.

“Because I killed Ralph years ago.”

Olivia was stunned out of her misery and looked up at him. “Why?”

“I pushed him into the chasm, and I got away with it because I told everyone he jumped. I did it, because he wanted me to do it again, rape another girl.” He told her.

He laughed angrily at the memory. “I was training the initiates and I had this one girl who was insubordinate, challenging me at every turn, and I complained to Ralph about it. He told me I should teach her a lesson so she’d shut up, like the Amity girl on the train.” He looked down at her.

Olivia was shocked. “We are both  _royally_ screwed up.”

Eric snorted in amusement at her comment, but it turned into a groan when he moved his leg, reminding her that he was hurt.

“Eric, we need to get to the hospital and take care of your wound.”

Eric shook his head. “No, we can’t. They will want to know why I was shot and they won’t believe us when we tell them your _rapist_ killed another guy to stop him from raping you too. It’s not too bad; I could probably make it home.” He said, trying to get up.

“You won’t be able to jump onto the train. We can make a story up for the hospital.” She pleaded.

“Don’t you think it would be rather suspicious if I showed up with a gunshot wound and there was a dead body found just blocks away? There’s no other choice, we’ll have to take our chances with the train.”

Resigned, she ripped the hem of her skirt and tied it around his leg to help stop the bleeding. Eric bit his lip when she pulled it tight and she helped him get up. The walk back to the platform was slow and arduous, Eric grunting in pain with every step he took, but they eventually made it.

When the train finally arrived, slowing as it came near, Eric managed to hobble along fast enough to pull himself on using his upper body strength and Olivia followed after him. There was no one else on at this time of evening and Olivia tied the two pieces of her top together so her breasts weren’t exposed anymore.

Eric sat on the floor, his back against the wall and his injured leg stretched out. She could see blood seeping through the bandage and wondered how they would get past the guards without them seeing it, but it ended up not being a problem. By the time they got back it was too dark outside to distinguish the dark spot of blood from his red pants and they went through the gate easily.

With Connor gone for the night and Linda already in bed, it was quiet when they got into the house and Eric sat down heavily on a dining chair as Olivia quietly gathered supplies to fix him up.

She wasn’t a doctor, but she was pretty sure she had to get the bullet out, clean the wound and sew it back up and so she grabbed her sewing kit, a bottle of iodine, and a pair of large tweezers. She rushed back over to him and put her stuff on the table.

Eric unwrapped the strip of her dress and pulled his pants down so she could have a good look at the wound. It was small, and still oozed blood, but otherwise didn’t look too bad. She was about to pour some of the iodine on it when Eric stopped her.

“Wait.” He grabbed a tea towel from the counter and bit down on it.

Olivia hesitated. She didn’t want to hurt him and the way he acted implied that it would. With uncertainty she poured some of the brown liquid on it and he shouted through the cloth, biting down hard.

When he calmed down, she grabbed the tweezers and dipped them into the liquid as well to sterilize them. Now came the part she dreaded the most, digging around inside his leg for the bullet.

She gulped and stuck her tool in, pushing it around until she hit something hard and squeezed her tweezers around the object to pull it out. It took a couple of tries, but she got it and they both sighed with relief.

She didn’t have any suture needles and thread, so she had to use her regular straight one to sew up the wound and threaded it with regular red thread. She dipped her needle in the alcohol and poured a bit more on his wound before sewing it up. The whole time Eric sat patiently, biting the towel until she was done.

He wiped off the rest of the blood from his leg as she put everything away, including hiding his pants so her mother wouldn’t find them, and then taped gauze over top to keep out dirt before putting him to bed.

She made sure he was comfortable before leaving and when she closed the door behind her, she felt completely alone after gotten used to the safety of his large body nearby. Fear crept back up her spine at the thought of being without him and decided for the one night it wouldn’t hurt to sleep next to him. She didn’t want to wake her mother anyway.

She peeked her head back into his room and asked, “Would you mind if I spent the night in here?”

Eric didn’t smirk or make any lewd comments about her wanting his body, and just patted the spot next to him. Taking the invitation, she crawled under the covers next to him, still in her torn dress and lay there stiffly. Her heart beat rapidly, aware of his almost naked body so close to hers and thought about what he and her mother had said.

He told her to face her fears and her mother said to touch until she was okay with it. After tonight’s events, she was tired of being raped and wanted to feel loved for once.

She drew up as much courage as she could and asked, “Eric, can you do me a favor?”

“Sure.” He said, almost as stiff as she.

She almost choked on her words, but they made it out in a shy voice. “I’ve been thinking and I think you’re right about facing my fears… And I would like it if you touched me, like you would your girlfriend.”

He looked at her, his eyebrows raised in surprise.

She continued nervously, “I just want to see if it makes it easier if I get used to it, you know? I mean, I don’t want to have sex or anything.”

“Well, my leg probably hurts too much for sex right now anyway. But if you’re sure?” He asked and she slowly nodded in reply.

Eric maneuvered himself so he was lying on his side, his head resting on his elbow and he slowly slipped his free hand under the covers and the opening of her dress where John had ripped it. His touch was feather light at first on her belly, almost unsure if it was what she really wanted, but when she didn’t protest it moved higher.

Olivia’s breath stuck in her throat and fear thumped her heart against her ribcage. She closed her eyes to block out the panic and concentrated on the feel of his rough hands on her skin.

He reached her left breast and cupped it gently, his thumb rubbing a circle around the nipple so it stood up. She inhaled sharply, but he ignored it and as he played with it, she realized it felt good and relaxed.

After teasing each breast, he travelled lower again to her inner thigh and tickled his way up and over the curls between her legs. Olivia sucked in a breath as he flicked her there and arched her back when he did it again and again, sending shivers of pleasure through her. His finger slipped inside and she moaned; she could feel the length of him hard against her hip as he rocked against her.

“This is torture. I’m stiff as a board and I can’t do anything about it.” He mumbled against her hair as he pulled the blanket down over her chest to reveal a pink rosebud nipple and he took it into his mouth.

Olivia was consumed with the pleasures of his touch, wanting more as his hot tongue swirled around her nipple and his fingers continued to deliciously play with her, and she said, “Maybe we should let you do something about it then.”  
***

Eric wanted to keep going so badly, but he didn’t want to do something that would be too much for her. Except when she moaned like she did when he caressed her breast, it didn’t seem like she was afraid and he lifted her dress over her head.

“Fuck my leg, then.” He said; pulling his boxers off and he climbed on top of her, too much in need to notice the pain.

He kissed her with hunger, his member caressing her opening, asking permission to enter, and when she spread her legs further apart, he nudged his way in slowly. As he filled her completely, she moaned loudly.

She was tight like a virgin, eight years without sex would do that, and he thrust slowly so she could get used to the size of him. He picked up speed the closer he came to his orgasm, planning on pulling out before he finished since they didn’t have a condom, but as he was about to pull out, she grabbed his ass and pulled him closer.

“Don’t stop. I’m close.” She urged.

Unable to resist, he kept going, hoping that she would orgasm before he did and he could still pull out, but her cry of ecstasy was too much and he spilled his seed inside her. He collapsed beside her, his muscles quivering from the effort of making love and tried to catch his breath.

Olivia smiled lazily and said, “I will definitely never doubt Tanya again.”

Eric grinned and threw his arm over her so he could reach and plant a kiss on her lips.


	20. Chapter 20

The next morning Eric woke up sore, but feeling happy. The soft weight of the body snuggled against his was reassuring, and he played with a lock of her hair as he watched her sleep peacefully in the dim light. He was so mesmerized by the feel of the silky strands in his hand that he was startled when there was a knock at the door.

“Eric, are you in there?”

He quickly pulled the covers over Olivia and gruffly called back, “Yeah.”

The door opened enough to let Linda lean in.

“Have you seen Olivia? I never noticed you guys come home last night and she didn’t come to bed with me...” Her voice trailed off as she caught sight of Olivia’s torn yellow dress on the floor and she looked back to Eric in the bed, where Olivia’s leg moved in her sleep.

A corner of her mouth lifted. “Well, I see you two had fun last night. I’ll just let you be then.” She said and closed the door behind her.

Eric relaxed into his pillow, not realizing he had gone stiff in the first place and smiled, despite the intrusion. He was joyous and looked forward to his future for the first time in years. He would have the girl he loved, a family that would grow in time, and he didn’t have to worry about dying in battle or suicide when he was no longer useful. He could grow old with Olivia and watch their children grow until he died naturally at an old age.

The thought of never being able to run wild like a Dauntless again tugged him in the guts, but the stirring in his arms reminded him that he wasn’t the only Dauntless in Amity and together they could keep each other sane. He kissed her on top of the head and got up to get ready for the long day ahead of him.

Another stretch of fence went up quickly, Eric loosing track of time as he daydreamed. He couldn’t wait to get his hands on Olivia again and planned what he would do the next time he had a moment alone with her.

_He envisioned them walking home together alone and as they passed an abandoned greenhouse, he would grab her hand and pull her into it, passionately kissing her as he closed the door and pushed her against one of the tables._

_He would lift her onto it and kneel down so he would be eye level with her legs. After lifting her skirt above her waist, his fingers would trail up her toned legs to the straps of her panties and pull them down, discarding them off to the side and she would spread her legs to invite him in._

_The smell of her already wet pussy would turn him on as he nuzzled his face to the junction of her thighs and slipped out his tongue to taste the sweet and salty taste of her readiness._

The sound of crunching footsteps on the gravel road brought him out of his fantasy and he looked up. He was immediately apprehensive when he recognized Peter.

“What are you doing here?” He asked the other man, hiding his shrinking hard on behind the board he held.

Peter smiled, unfriendly. “Joanna invited Max here to discuss bringing back the Dauntless guards he took away, so no more wild animals get through the lines again. He brought me so he could introduce me as Dauntless’ new leader.”

Eric tensed. Anger coursed through him at the fact they would pick Peter to replace him, and he completely forgot his earlier pleasure.

“You know, I’ve never been in Amity before.” Peter said looking around him. “Where’s your girl? Maybe I should get a little Amity hospitality before I leave.” He said.

Eric’s fingers clenched the board in front of him, trying to hold back his rage, so he wouldn’t get kicked out for beating up a Dauntless leader.

Peter saw his reaction and laughed. “Don’t worry. I would never touch an Amity girl; they probably bathe in animal piss.”

“Watch it, Peter. That’s my family.” He said through clenched teeth.

“What happened to Faction before blood?”

“I don’t have a Faction, remember? My family is all I have left.” He replied.

Peter snorted. “Some family. A girl who hates you and a bastard for a son. I can’t say I envy you. Leader is much preferable.”

“You don’t deserve it. Attacking a fellow initiate while he slept instead of facing him in a fair fight was cowardice.” Eric spat back at him.

Peter glared and leaned in close. “I would be careful if I was you. I know it was you who killed John. You left Amity to visit the hospital the same night his body was found, it’s not proof, but that doesn’t mean I won’t find any.”

Eric just glared back, giving nothing away to show his guilt. They stared at each other for a good minute before Peter suddenly pulled his arm back and threw it in Eric’s face, but he stopped inches away from him and laughed at Eric’s unwavering expression.

“Wow, you really have gone soft! Back in Dauntless you would have stopped me, but now you were going to let me do it.” Peter shook his head in disbelief and amusement. “Have fun working in pig shit.” He said and stalked away.  
***

  
Olivia felt loose and dreamy ever since she woke up in Eric’s bed that morning, and now in the orchard she couldn’t concentrate on her work. The only thoughts in her head were the memory of Eric’s hands on her body.

Her fear was a distant memory now and she felt warm thinking of sleeping next to him every night. To have his large hands caressing her gently, but firmly each night sent tingles down her extremities.

The feel of him inside her was uncomfortable at first, but it was nothing like the last time they were together and she enjoyed it. She didn’t intend on sleeping with him, but when he made her feel so good, she couldn’t resist experiencing more, even though it was unexpected… Like before.

Fear shot through her. They didn’t use protection and at the time she didn’t even care, but now she was worried. She had gotten pregnant the first time they had sex, and although she knew it could take more than once for an egg to be fertilized, you never knew what could happen.

She dropped her basket and went to find Tanya. There was no time to get her own supply of condoms by tonight, not to mention the embarrassment of someone knowing she was going to use them, but she knew Tanya always had some.

“Hey.” Tanya smiled at her as she watered the strawberry bushes. Olivia fiddled with her sleeve, unsure how to bring it up and her friend noticed.

Tanya stopped pouring the water in her can and perked up at attention. “What’s the matter?”

“I was wondering if I could… You know… Borrow some…”

“Tampons?” Tanya asked.

“No. I mean…” Olivia rattled on.

“Olivia, you’re never nervous about anything except when I talk about sex… Oh wait! You want condoms? Whatever for?... Oh! The hunk finally chipped away your barrier and you’re thinking of doing him.” Tanya concluded without Olivia giving any details.

“Well… We may have already slept together.” Olivia said uncertain of how her friend would react. She knew Tanya was attracted to Eric and she came close to sleeping with him as well.

“That’s great! It’s about time you got laid.” Tanya beamed.

“You don’t mind?”

“Of course not! Eric told me he had feelings for you, that’s why he ran away from me. I’m glad you got him instead of me, you deserve someone good.” She said and slung an arm over Olivia’s shoulders. “So, about these condoms.” She said and they walked to her home.

That evening at dinner Olivia sat next to Eric, because Linda insisted on it, and their fingers entwined under the table as they ate. She barely paid any attention to the conversation at the table, silently wishing she could send them all off to bed so she could rip Eric’s clothing off that instant. But it would look suspicious if she did, so she remained quiet and prayed time would go faster.

Finally every morsel of food on their plates was gone and she quickly gathered the plates to wash them, but Linda took them from her and said, “Connor can help me clean up. It looks like you two need some air.”

Thinking her mother was still trying to push them together, she took the opportunity and slowed her pace to look nonchalant as they left the house. Free from prying eyes, she stood on her tip toes and kissed Eric on the lips, her hands resting on his hard chest, but he didn’t immediately respond so she backed up.

“Are you ok? You haven’t changed your mind have you?” She asked, scared that he had.

Eric wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer. “Of course I haven’t. I wouldn’t change my mind about us, even if you were trying to kill me. I was just thinking about something.”

“About what?” She asked.

“Nothing important.” He shook his head, and leaned in for another kiss. “Let’s take a walk.” He whispered against her hair after.

They walked, hand in hand, away from the house and towards anywhere secluded. They found themselves at the edge of the corn field, far from anyone who may still be awake.

With anticipation quickening her heartbeat and the condoms Tanya gave her, burning a hole in her pocket, she began to unbutton his shirt. She slid the open fabric off his shoulders and gazed at his bare flesh, ribbed with goosebumps and stroked the short curly hairs on his chest, following the hair trail to the waist of his pants and undid them as well. He sucked in air at her touch when his pants pooled at his feet, and his hardened appendage throbbed in her hand.

He got to touch her last night and this time she wanted to touch him. She stroked him slowly, savouring the feel of the blood pulsing through his veins as he enjoyed the feel of her touch, and she could feel her panties moisten with her own pleasure.

He was beautiful, the moonlight shining from behind to give him a silver outline as he shuddered in her palm. She had thought he was finished, but when she took her hand away, he was dry as a bone and harder than ever.

He growled at the release of her grip and pulled her dress over her head and her panties down, suddenly leaving her naked in front of him. He pressed himself against her in a crushing kiss, needlessly stroking her to get her ready, but she stopped him as he went to enter her.

“I got condoms.” She said out of breath.

With a grunt of urgency, he nodded for her to get it and she snatched it out of her pocket on the ground and put it on him. Without another second he spun her around so her back was to him and he bent her over the fence. He grabbed her ass and teased her opening with his dick, getting her to moan, before pushing his way in.

He filled her completely, but in a different way from the new angle and moaned as he thrust. She had to hold onto the fence for balance and her breasts bounced with each movement.

The chance at getting caught out in the open fueled her desire and she cried out as he went faster, coming closer to his climax. He massaged her breasts as he rammed into her, matching her moans with his own until he let out one final sound and relaxed against her.

Olivia was still ripe with want when he eased himself out of her and her wishing he wouldn’t leave must have shown on her face, because he smiled and urged her to lay down.

She did as he wanted and was surprised when he laid down below her and stuck his face between her legs. She cried out when his tongue flicked her sensitive clit and she grabbed his hair, urging him to keep going as she neared her own climax.

They cuddled in the rough grass on the edge of the corn field and stared up at the stars when they were done. Soon they would have to return home and their normal routine until the next night and she wished time would stand still so she could lose herself in his embrace over and over again.

He was an amazing lover and Olivia wanted to ask him how many women he had before her to be so good at it, but she held her tongue, not wanting to ruin the moment with jealousy. An hour passed and when the night air grew chilly they got dressed and went home.


	21. Chapter 21

A week went by and Olivia and Eric were happy. Jacob got the hint and backed off a few days after their first joining, her mother had stopped sticking her nose in their business and Connor was over the moon, telling all his friends about his parents getting back together. Which meant Lexi now knew as well and the rest of the community.

It was late at night; they had just finished making love a half hour ago and Eric was fast asleep next to Olivia. She was having a hard time falling sleep for whatever reason, but it didn’t bother her as she caressed the man next to her.

Eric was on his back, the blanket only covering his naked, lower region and the leg closest to hers; leaving the rest of him exposed to her scrutiny. She trailed her finger tips lightly across his tight ab muscles, savouring the feel of the goosebumps that rose in her wake. The hair that trailed from his groin to navel and then spread out the closer it got to his chest was springy as she brushed past it.

She crossed the solidity of his chest and caressed the trim beard she loved so much; hoping he would never shave it off, as his lips drew her attention. They were like a beacon amidst the facial hair and she stroked his bottom lip, wanting so badly to kiss him again and again; to lose herself in the taste of him, but he moaned and rolled over, trapping her in his embrace and she smiled.

Wrapped in his encompassing warmth, she fell asleep to the comforting smell of his musky scent.  
***

Later that day, everyone had the afternoon off for a community picnic in celebration of Roger Martin’s return home and Eric sat with his family at one of the cafeteria tables that were brought outside for the occasion.

The band was playing music somewhere in the background, but it was drowned out by the chatter around them as Eric played a card game called Slap Jack with Connor and his friend, Ned. His parents sat with them at the table and his mother, Lexi, was currently absorbed in conversation with Olivia.

The card Eric flipped over the pile was a Jack and he purposely hesitated before slamming his hand down on the boys’, who giggled with excitement. Ned won that round and they quickly started another, but Eric’s attention was diverted as he caught snippets of the girl’s conversation.

“So, you’re late?” Lexi asked for clarification.

The boys shouted and he missed Olivia’s answer.

“And you’ve been feeling nauseas?” Lexi asked.

“Here and there, but not too much yet.” Olivia replied.

“Does Eric know?”

Know? Know what? He wondered.

If he didn’t know any better, he’d say Olivia was pregnant, but they were using protection so she couldn’t be, could she? Hope sprang in his chest at the thought. Another baby; another chance to raise his own child. A smile spread across his face and he abandoned the game to pick Olivia up and spin her around. She squealed in surprise from the sudden embrace and he set her feet down.

“Is it true? Are you pregnant?” He asked.

Olivia playfully smacked him on the arm. “Eavesdropping isn’t very nice, Eric.”

“Yeah, but it’s a good source for information. Are you going to answer me or not?”

She looked over at the boys and quietly said, “I think so, but I was waiting for the doctor to confirm it before I was going to tell you.”

Eric beamed.

Even though he didn’t really care how it happened, he asked anyway. “But we’ve been good. When did this happen?”

“Not our first time, we weren’t.” She replied.

“Geez, you’re fertile! Twice we’ve done it once without protection and you’ve gotten pregnant both times.” He said, amazed.

Olivia smirked. “Guess we’ll just have to stop having sex, unless we want 10 kids.”

Eric pulled her closer to him. “I’ll have 100 kids if that’s what it takes.” He said and kissed her.

Olivia smiled against his lips. “Well, we’ll have nine months before we need to worry about the other 98.” She said as she pulled away. “But first, I need to help my mom bring out the food.”

Eric watched her go and sat back down at the table with the boys. They played for another ten minutes before cars roared into the compound. Everyone’s head turned to watch as Peter and a group of Dauntless got out and marched over to them, guns in hand. Eric’s heart picked up speed as they approached him and he stood up.

“Eric, you’re under arrest for the murder of John Beyers.” Peter said as one of his cronies flipped Eric around and the crowd gasped when he was shoved against the table.

As he was being cuffed, Peter continued, “You’ll be taken back to Dauntless headquarters for trial…” But Eric stopped paying attention when he caught sight of Olivia behind him.

To him it all happened in slow motion as Olivia screamed and dropped the basket of buns she was carrying and ran over to stop them.

“No, you can’t arrest him!” She cried, trying to pry him out of the soldier’s hold, but another caught her from behind and pulled her away. “It was self defense!” She screamed at Peter.

Eric felt numb. He didn’t want to fight back in case they hurt Olivia and the new baby, so he said to Connor, “You be good for your mom, ok?” When a shocked Connor nodded in reply, he gave him a last smile and turned to Olivia, “I love you, remember that.”

He was yanked back before she could answer and the sound of Olivia’s cries followed him as they dragged Eric to the cars. Forced into the back of the truck, he felt the engine roar to life and jerked forward toward the city gate.


	22. Chapter 22

Olivia paced the living room, racked with worry and guilt. It was her fault Eric was arrested; if she wasn’t attacked then he wouldn’t have had to kill John. There was something wrong with her that made these things happen, and she felt miserable.

“Olivia, please sit down.” Linda pleaded with her.

“I can’t. I need to figure out a way to save him, mom, and moving helps me think.” She said shaking her head no.

“Well, you’re making me dizzy!” Linda exclaimed, frantic.

Olivia could see that her features were etched with worry too, so she obeyed her instead of arguing.

“I don’t think there’s anything we can do to help him, sweetheart.” Her mother said, sympathetically.

Olivia slapped her hand against her thigh in frustration. “Of course there is! I’m Dauntless, aren’t I? I should be able to sneak in and break him out or something!”

Linda looked at her in concern. “And go where, after? They surely won’t let you stay here.”

Olivia bit her lip, holding back the tears that threatened to come pouring out. There had to be something they could do, but what?  
***

Eric grunted in pain as another kick to his ribs landed. He spat out the blood that was pooling in his mouth and looked up at his attacker, pissed off that he was a cheat.

As soon as they’d left Amity, they had stuck him with a needle that made him drowsy and weak, then shoved him into a cell at the bottom of Dauntless where no one would hear the beating he was now receiving.

Peter stood above him, a cool look of hatred on his face as he peered down at Eric. He began to roll up his sleeves as he circled the larger man, who still lay on the floor in pain.

Eric wasn’t going to take this without some kind of fight and if his insolence was all he had to use, then so be it. He fought through the pain and sneered at the other man.

“Is this the best you can do? Attack people better than you while they’re defenseless? Just like Edward was when you stabbed him in the eye?”

He was rewarded with another swift kick to the stomach for his comment and he half laughed, half coughed through the searing pain.

“Shut up, Eric. Your words mean nothing here, now. I’m the one in charge and you’ll be dead soon enough.” Peter jeered.

Eric managed to push himself up enough to lean against the wall and he casually asked, “How did you prove that I killed John, anyway?”

Peter snickered in arrogance. “I didn’t. I told one of my men to testify as a witness when the time comes and that’s all I needed to arrest you. How does it feel knowing that I could kill you with just an order?” He asked.

“Why do you want me dead, so badly? I wouldn’t think you harbored strong enough feelings for John to want revenge for his death.” Eric asked in return.

“I don’t give a shit about John. In fact, I couldn’t care less if he offed himself. But you… People around here still talk about you like you’re some God. ‘Eric killed a bear by himself,’ ‘Eric was so cunning and ruthless,’ ‘Eric was so hot.’” He imitated a woman’s voice for the last one.

“I’m tired of hearing Max tell me how I won’t measure up to you and everyone else thinking of me as the guy who replaced you.” Peter explained with anger.

“But I’ve got my own men, now. Ones loyal to me, because I brought them back from the brink of Factionless. They obey me and they’re going to help me kill you, but not before I get to have a little fun. Here, I’ve got a gift for you.” Peter said.

“That’s nice of you.” Eric said, dryly.

Peter smirked and the guard standing by the door handed him a serum gun. “A joy ride in your worst fears should bring back old memories of Dauntless for you.” He said and swiftly jabbed it into Eric’s neck.  
***

“Why do they think Eric killed this man, anyway?” Linda asked Olivia, trying to gage the situation. Olivia looked at her mother with tearful eyes and choked back a sob. Linda quickly engulfed her in a hug to comfort her.

“The night we went to the hospital to visit Roger… we were attacked by a guy named, John. He was one of the men on the train the... the first night… and when he recognized me, he shot Eric in the leg and he tried to… rape me, but Eric stopped him.” She explained when she was calm enough to do so, still clutching her mother.

“Well, then, we just have to go to Dauntless and explain to them it was self defense. Hopefully they’ll see reason and let him go.” Linda said.

“But I can’t prove John attacked me.” She replied, unconvinced it would work.

“You said he shot Eric, right? Well, if he still has the wound then that’s proof someone attacked him, because I highly doubt he’d shoot himself.” Her mother said.

Eric’s wound was healing nicely. It hadn’t seemed to bother him from the beginning, but it was still there, a dark red scab with purple bruising around it.

“Maybe you’re right. It sounds like it’s our best shot and at least it will get us into Dauntless, in case we need to break him out in the end. Let me ask Lexi if Connor can stay with her for the night and we can head over there.” Olivia said, now focused on a goal.  
***

Eric woke up in his bed in Amity, confused as to how he got there for about a second, when he felt a tickling along the curly blond hair of his forearm. Jerking his arm to eye level, he found a small brown spider crawling toward his shoulder.

He swatted at it and tried to jump out of the bed, but something invisible held him down. Eric was helpless as more spiders creeped from the edges of the bed towards him, his heart racing and his skin crawling with revulsion.

He knew this fear. There wasn’t much he could do to stop them except to calm his beating heart and move on to the next one. So, he closed his eyes tight and pretended he was lying in bed next to Olivia, watching the sunrise crawl up the wall.

The bed beneath him crumbled into a pile of sand, carrying him with it, and he began to sink. He searched for something to hold on to as his legs quickly sunk to knee level, but the room was cleared of anything of use.

The sand wasn’t really what he was afraid of; just a symbol of how he felt whenever he made too many mistakes that he couldn’t find his way out of them and his fear spiked a little bit higher as memories came flooding back.

Olivia on the train and her tear stained face as he jumped off. Tris standing at the knife target, bravely awaiting her punishment from Four. Complaining to Ralph about her and then throwing him into the chasm. The only way out of this one was to confess.

Eric was neck deep by this point and he blew sand out of his mouth before shouting, “I raped Olivia because I was selfish. I bullied Tris because I was arrogant, and I killed Ralph, because I was a coward!”

The sand disappeared and he was sitting at a desk in a brightly lit room, surrounded by books and wearing blue clothing. He was in Erudite and apparently reading up on the mechanics of making serums.

High heels clicked on the floor outside the door to his bedroom and he turned to see his mother standing in the doorway, her curly blond hair perfectly done up in a sleek ponytail and glasses perched in front of her blue eyes.

“Are you ready for your future with Erudite, Eric?” She asked.

He wanted to scream ‘no’ at her, but the word wouldn’t come and instead he heard, “Yes, mother,” leave his lips. She beamed at him and gestured for him to follow her.

He got up and followed her to the next room. It was the Erudite library and every table was piled high to the ceiling with books of every topic imaginable.

“Better get started, Eric.” His mother said and when she made to leave, his hand darted out and grabbed hers.

“I don’t belong here.” He forced out, sweat beading on his brow with the effort.

His mother smiled, sweetly. “Of course you do, Eric. You were born here; you will die here.”

Panic gripped him and he clenched her hand tighter. “I’m Dauntless!” He roared.

Suddenly he was in the infirmary, lying on a bed with the blankets covering him, but something felt off. Oh, he hated this one. He whipped the blanket off and there from just above his right knee down, his leg was missing. He breathed through his nose vigorously to keep his panic at bay, but thoughts ran through his mind.

He couldn’t fight without a leg, so he would be useless to Dauntless and if he couldn’t work, then Amity wouldn’t need him either. Olivia wouldn’t want a disfigured man and he refused to live like this. He grabbed his gun that sat on the table beside him and placed it to his head. He pulled the trigger.

Suddenly, Eric was in the Dauntless training room facing Four on one of the mats. His opponent was already in stance when Max said, “Go!”

Eric dodged the fist aimed at his face. He quickly recovered and sent a kick to Four’s leg, hoping to knock him down, but Four was quick to block it.

Eric was normally powerful, but now he felt weak and his throws barely left a dent on Four, who took advantage of it and snuck in a hit to his windpipe. Eric stumbled back, trying to breathe, and Four tripped him to the mat; pummeling him until Eric conceded.

“That was pathetic, Eric!” Max shouted at him. “Four’s smaller than you are and you still couldn’t beat him. You’re weak and a disgrace to the Dauntless faction!”

_Fuck Four and his unpretentiousness,_ he raged in his head. He blocked out the rest of whatever Max said and slowed his heart rate. He thought about the day when he defeated the bear and Amity gave him their respect, and his fear and anger eased.  
***

Four hours after Eric’s arrest, Olivia and Linda sat in Max’s office waiting for him to arrive. As soon as they had mentioned Eric at the entrance of Dauntless, they were escorted directly to the very room they sat in and Olivia felt like she was going to hurl.

The door finally opened and a familiar man stepped in. She recognized him from the many Amity votes regarding Dauntless and knew him to be the leader, Max.

He sat down behind the desk. “So, what’s the problem with Eric, now?” He asked, slightly annoyed.

Olivia was confused. “You arrested him, that’s the problem.”

Max’s features went from annoyed to puzzled in an instant. “I didn’t arrest Eric. What for?”

“The murder of John.” Olivia said, straightening in her seat and leaning forward. “Are you telling me that the guy who came to Amity and arrested Eric had no authority to do so?”

“That depends on who it was.” Max replied.

“I don’t know his name, but he had black hair and a cocky attitude.” She described him the best she could from the two minutes she had encountered him.

“Peter.” Max grumbled. “That kid is a pain in my ass. What exactly is going on?”

Olivia explained to him the events that led up to John’s death and then what happened at Amity when Eric was arrested. She watched as his face grew angry with every word she said. When she finished, he called to the Dauntless outside the door and asked him to retrieve Four.

Fifteen minutes later another man entered the room, looking curious. He was good looking, Olivia noted, with his dark hair and blue eyes. He wasn’t as big or as intimidating as Eric, but there was a quiet power that emanated from him.

So this was the Four that beat Eric in training. She didn’t know what to expect the man Eric seemed to hate to be like, but she was surprised when he instantly agreed to help find Eric with the security footage he worked with.  
***

Eric watched as his initiates climbed onto the train. Every single one of them had failed to make it through the Dauntless initiation and it was his job to see them out of the compound.

It was his fault they were Factionless. He had failed them in their training and now they had no home or family. This fear had always brought the most guilt with it and as he tried to ignore it, a memory surfaced.

“It’s okay to fail, as long as you learn from it, dad.” Connor said to him one night after a game of Risk that Eric had lost. He had heard an Erudite classmate say it earlier that day, and the memory brought a smile to his face.

Suddenly he was back home in Amity and a teenaged boy burst through the front door, throwing his bag onto the floor and marching up to him. Eric was startled by the boy’s resemblance to himself and wasn’t sure if it was his own teenaged reflection he was looking at or Connor’s.

He was the same height as him, with the same broad shoulders and chiseled face, only ten years younger, and it was eerie as he stared at his own expression of anger when the boy grabbed him by the collar.

“How dare you rape my mother!” The boy shouted at him, his knuckles going white with fury at Eric’s neck.

Eric’s gut dropped. “You finally found out.” He croaked out.

“Yeah, I did.” The boy said. “All this time, you had me believe that you’re some hero and you loved me, but all it was that kept you here was guilt and shame!” Connor shoved him back forcefully. Eric caught the edge of the couch and steadied himself.

“Get out! I don’t ever want to see your disgusting, pathetic face ever again!” Eric’s heart felt like it was being ripped out of his chest as his son roared at him, pointing at the door.

This was a new fear; it was something he knew he dreaded would happen in the future and he realized that he might not recognize the rest of his own fears.

His best option was to calm himself down, but it was proving difficult to ignore the pain and the shame of having his son know and hate him for what he had done.

“Listen to me, Connor. I do love you and your mother.” He pleaded. “I know what I did was terrible, but Olivia forgave me and I’m asking you to as well.”

“How do I know you’re not lying?” Connor said, tears running down his cheeks.

“Because I taught you things, I read you books, I listened to your troubles and gave you advice. Would you do that for someone you didn’t care about? Because I sure wouldn’t.” Eric replied. “How you came to be doesn’t mean I love you any less.”

Connor’s fists unclenched and he threw himself into Eric’s arms. Eric held him tightly, but when he opened his eyes, he was gone and Eric was back in his cell at Dauntless.

“Time’s up, Eric.” Peter said, standing in front of him. He raised his arm and aimed his gun at Eric’s forehead.

Eric had to fight the urge to plead for his life. He knew it was no use. Peter had hated him since the beginning of his initiation; he just hoped that Olivia, Connor and Linda would be okay without him. He stared the other man down, waiting for it all to end and he flinched at the click of the gun’s misfire. Peter cursed.

“Hand me your gun, Mike. Mine obviously isn’t up to the task.” Eric could hear Peter say, his eyes now closed in relief.

There was a click from the safety and Eric opened his eyes in time to see Peter pull the trigger and then it all went black.  
***

“There he is.” Four pointed at one of the computer screens.

Olivia leaned in closer to get a better look and in what looked like a prison cell were three men. Eric was on the ground, unmoving, as the other two watched him with guns in their hands and she got worried.

“What do you suppose they plan to do with him, if not take him to a real trial?” She asked Four.

“Kill him, most like. We’re lucky they haven’t done it already.” He answered.

“How do you know they haven’t? He looks pretty still to me.” Linda asked, her voice filled with sorrow and worry.

“I don’t.” He said.

“We better get him out of there before anything else happens.” Max said.

He issued orders to a group of Dauntless to arrest everyone that Peter associated with and told the women to stay put as he and Four went down to get Eric.

Olivia quickly followed behind them, not caring whether or not they put up a fuss, and ignored the stares sent her way as she jogged down the halls with them. She had more pressing concerns than to care about why the Dauntless wondered why an Amity was in their compound.  
***

It as pitch black and Eric couldn’t see his hand in front of his face, but he could feel the cool, hard metal of a gun wrapped in his palm.

“Eric, are you there?” Olivia called off in the distance.

He jerked his head in the direction her voice came from and he moved towards it. The lights flashed on and he shielded his eyes with his arm against the sudden glare. There a foot away from him was Olivia in Peter’s grip.

“Let her go.” He rumbled.

“I can’t do that, man. She’s a traitor to her faction. A Dauntless hiding in Amity, tsk tsk.” He shook his head in mock sympathy. “No, she has to pay for her crime and as leader, that’s your job.”

Eric looked down at the gun in his hand and shook his head. “I won’t.”

“You have to.” Peter urged, pulling Olivia back when she tried to run from him. “Or I will and it won’t be pretty.”

Eric looked at her frightened face. He had to do it to get out of this nightmare. He knew that, but it didn’t make it any easier. Without hesitating he aimed and pulled the trigger. His target hit the floor with a thud and he caught Olivia as she fainted. Living in the nightmare was better than the guilt of knowing he could pull the trigger and kill her.

The weight of her body in his arms faded and the walls disappeared, letting the sun shine down on him in the middle of the street. No one else was around and he began walking. He must’ve walked for ten minutes before he realized he hadn’t seen a single person and it was the middle of the day; people should be going about their work and buses running, but there was nothing.

An empty feeling stole over him. The city was deserted and he had no one to go home to, no one to support or love him. There would be no more stolen kisses or pillow fights. No more jokes or tickles. He ran in the direction of the closest bridge, expecting to hurl himself over the side, but Four’s voice stopped him in his tracks.

“Eric, wake up.” Echoed around him and Eric spun around to see where the voice had come from.

A pain shot across his cheek and he blinked up at a bright light. Four’s face came into focus in front of his and he began to shake. Was this another fear or real life?

He had counted ten fears and that’s what he always had whenever he went under, but you never knew what could happen to your fears. Some of his had already changed, so he wouldn’t be surprised if his number went up.

“Here, drink this. It will help calm you down.” Four handed him a cup.

Eric’s annoyance rose instead of his fear and at that moment he knew it was real and he knocked the cup out of Four’s hand; it clinked against the stone floor and rolled away.

“I’m Dauntless, I don’t need that shit.” He snarled, despite his body’s trembling.

Four’s lip twitched up. “Okay. Looks like you haven’t lost your attitude.”

“What happened? Where’s Peter?” He demanded.

“You were in a full fear simulation for a while by the time we got to you, and I had to forcefully take you out of it. As for Peter… I can see why you haven’t been kicked out of Amity by now; you sure know how to pick them.” He chuckled. “As soon as we opened your cell, Olivia marched over to Peter and knocked him out with a really lucky punch. Did you teach her that?” Four asked him.

Eric smirked at the thought. “Is she still here? Did she get hurt?” He tried to get up, concern taking over his momentary amusement.

Four pushed him back down without much effort. “She’s fine. We had to force her to stay in Max’s office while we looked you over. How did you manage to find a Dauntless girlfriend in Amity, anyway?”

“What makes you think she’s Dauntless?” Eric replied coolly, hiding his nerves.

“Maybe it was the fact that she came here without Joanna, or maybe it was her breaking Peter’s face in, or it could be the fact that she put up a fight to see you.” Four said sarcastically.

“If you tell anyone, I swear I’ll kill you, Four.” Eric glowered.

“Calm down, I’m not going to tell anyone, but you might want to tell her to hide it better.” Four replied.

Worry ate at Eric. If the others found out, would they let her leave Dauntless after he was dead? Eric cleared his throat, uncomfortable with what he was about to do, but for Olivia’s sake he would.

“Four, I need a favor.”

Four looked at him immensely curious and nodded.

“Get Olivia out of here safely after my trial.” He requested.

Four looked at him, confused. “What trial?”

“The one Peter arrested me for.” He said; his irritation increasing.

“There is no trial, Eric. Peter arrested you on his own and when Max found out, thanks to your girlfriend, he shut him down and arrested him and all his men.” Four explained.

“From what I hear, Peter has been pushing Max’s buttons as soon as he became leader and Max was trying to find a way to get rid of him. Guess he found one, because he’s been stripped of his rank and is sitting in the same cell he had you in. You’re free to go.”

Relief burst through Eric’s chest and he laid back down in exhaustion.

“Don’t get too comfortable, Max wants to see you as soon as you’re able.” Four said, cleaning up the cup Eric had spilled and walked away.


	23. Chapter 23

As soon as Four left the room, Eric jumped off the bed and headed straight to Max’s office as fast as he could. He wanted to see with his own eyes that Olivia was okay, but when he pushed the door open, Max was the only one in the room and his concentration broke at Eric’s appearance. If he wasn’t mistaken, he thought he saw relief pass behind Max’s eyes as he motioned for Eric to come in and sit down.

“What did you want to see me about?” He asked curtly. He wanted to find Olivia, not chit chat.

“Well, I can see you don’t want to beat around the bush.” Max smirked. “I want you to come back to Dauntless.”

In his shock and confusion, Eric held his breath.

“Peter’s out, he’ll be tried for your mistreatment and so will his men and they’ll most likely be sent to the Factionless where they belong, which means I have an opening in leadership and I want you to fill it.” Max said.

“What about my charges? No one will allow me to come back after getting kicked out, it’s against the rules.” Eric said.

“I’ve found a loop hole that will allow it. If you’ve been proven innocent then the charges get dropped and you’re free to come back.” Max smiled at him.

Eric peered at him in suspicion. “But I’m not innocent.”

“Well, according to Olivia you are. She’s given a statement saying it was consensual.” Max pushed a piece of paper at him and Eric picked it up.

It was true. Olivia’s signature was underneath a statement depicting how they met secretly on the train and when she found out she was pregnant she decided not to tell Eric, but it was a misunderstanding on her son’s part when he found out that lead to his arrest.

He wanted to know why she would do such a thing and asked, “Where is she? I want to talk to her.”

Max leaned back, apprehension written on his face. “She went back to Amity not long after your release.”

“Did you force her to leave?” Eric was angry, thinking they pushed her out so he would stay.

“No, she wanted to go before you saw her.” Max replied.

His heart broke. She freed him from his forced exile and imprisonment only to abandon him after. Did she not think he would go back to them if he had a choice? Obviously not and he slammed his fist on the desk in anger.

Max didn’t even budge from the physical release of fury and looked him square in the eye.

“You love her, don’t you?”

Eric didn’t bother answering, because it was obviously clear that he did.

“You know, Joanna’s been keeping me in the loop of how you’ve been doing in Amity. On my request of course, not that she’s had to with the rumors that keep spilling in here, and it would seem to me that you’ve prospered there. Would it really be that hard to be nice for a change and go back?”

Eric glared at him. He had made his decision the moment Max told him that she went home; there was nothing he could say to change his mind.  
***

Linda was doing the dishes as Olivia sat outside staring at the painting of Eric and she could hear her mother’s sniffles from the window behind her.

She was fighting the urge to cry herself, knowing there was a chance she would never see the man she loved again. Well, that wasn’t entirely true. She might see him when Dauntless came to Amity or in passing in town, but the thought of not being able to touch him or speak intimately with him again hurt, but she had to do it.

She needed to know he would choose them on his own, or not if that was the case, but at least he would be happy and that was what mattered to her the most.

Connor would see him again when he chose Dauntless, then at least he’d have someone there to look after him, and she knew Eric would.

And the new baby… She supposed they could visit him on visiting day, though that was usually for initiates, but what did they care about rules? They’ve already broken so many of them, why not another?

Olivia sighed heavily and stared at the handsome face before her. His eyes at first were stone cold, but she lessened the lines around them over time so they were softer and looked out at her with love to reflect the man she knew. She was glad to have this reminder, to know how he looked when he saw her at the end.  
***

Tori’s tattoo parlor was still dark as ever with the bright red lights that gave it a daring vibe and Eric sat in his usual chair as she worked on him. He stared at Olivia’s painting that hung before him and it filled him with memories from two different lifetimes; his Dauntless self, filled with guilt as he looked at it before he knew her and his time in Amity when he was forced to be with her.

Now he had a choice and he swore to himself he picked the right one as he gazed at it. He had asked Max if she and Connor could join him in Dauntless if he returned and the answer was a resounding no.

Connor could come on his choosing day, but otherwise they were Amity, chosen by Olivia whether it was her true faction or not and there was nothing they could do to change that.

Eric scratched at his borrowed black clothing, not used to its’ abrasive fabric anymore, and wished Tori would hurry up with his new tattoo.  
***

Olivia fell asleep that night exhausted from the emotional turmoil of the day and hugged Eric’s pillow to remember his scent. When she drifted off, she dreamed of him.

_Warm lips touched hers lightly and in her drowsy state she trailed her hands up his powerful arms to his shoulders as he leaned over her and pulled him closer to deepen the kiss._

_A moan escaped her when he slid his hand across her breast, causing her nipple to rise in arousal. She pulled his shirt over his head in urgent need to caress his bare flesh and ran her hands over the hardened muscles of his chest and abs._

_He broke the kiss and flipped the blanket off her body, exposing her to the cool night air that tingled her skin and he straddled her waist. He slowly slid the straps of her night gown down her shoulders until her breasts were bared to him and he gently squeezed one as his thumb teased her nipple to a taut peak._

_She arched her back at his touch and savoured the feeling of him caressing her. Her hips rocked involuntarily and the friction of his weight on her clit made her exhale in desire._

_“Wait for me.” His husky voice whispered in her ear and he undid his belt while still on top of her._

_She didn’t wait for him to undo his pants to take action and did it for him, letting his enlarged appendage stiffly escape its’ confines and she pushed him onto his back._

_Eric let out a growl when she tasted him, the salty taste of arousal fresh on her tongue as she moved him in and out of her mouth. She could tell he was close to climaxing from the various sounds coming from him, but at the last minute he stopped her and pulled away._

_He pulled her up along his body so she was kneeling above his head and anticipation spiked her desire before his tongue did. The slippery warm feel of him as he licked her hole to clit was explosive on its’ own, but he didn’t stop there. He teased her with his fingers from her front as his tongue thrust in her from behind. Olivia cried out in ecstasy and caressed her own breasts as he pleasured her to completion._

_As her orgasm faded, she slid down his body so her nipples rubbed against the hair on his chest and it was her turn to straddle him. His increasing hard on pressed against the juices of her recent climax and she became aroused again._

_One small movement and he would be inside her, Eric knew it too because he tried to thrust himself in with a grunt, but she was too high for him to reach and she smiled at the control she had on him. She wiggled her hips gently to tease him and at his breathless plea, she shifted and encased him inside her._

_He filled her deeply and she moaned at the feel of her stretching to accommodate his size. It took only a second to recognize him and she began to move, pumping her legs up and down as she held onto his chest for support, him staring at her chest as they bounced with her rhythm._

_It didn’t take long before they were panting in each other’s arms, relishing in the aftermath of their love making and Olivia dozed off, thankful to have him close to her again._

In the morning, Olivia opened her eyes slowly. She wished she could sleep forever, but knowing she couldn’t, she stretched and jolted when her arm hit someone next to her. She leapt out of the bed and stared in astonishment as Eric sat up with a yawn.

“What… When did you get here?” She choked out.

“Last night.” Eric replied, with a smirk. “Don’t you remember?”

Olivia finally noticed she was naked and realized that her dream really happened, but she must’ve been too out of it to register it as reality. She grinned broadly and jumped on top of him with a kiss.

“You chose us! But what took you so long?” She asked, accusingly.

“Well, I was a bit pissed off at first that you just left me there like you expected me to not come back, and then when I had time to cool down I got a tattoo.” He explained.

“I’m sorry, but I just couldn’t face you if you chose Dauntless.” She apologized. “Why did you need a new tattoo?”

“For this.” He said and placed his left hand on hers.

There on his ring finger was a ring tattooed onto his flesh and when she looked more closely at it, it was actually words written around his finger to look like a ring.

“It says, ‘Dauntless at heart, but Amity in soul.’” Eric said, watching her reaction.

Olivia held back the tears that screamed at her to let them fall and asked, “Is that supposed to be a wedding ring? What if I say no?”

“That doesn’t matter to me. Even if you say no, you will always be my soul.” He said.

A tear finally escaped and ran down her cheek to land on his hand. She leaned in and kissed him again.

“I say, yes.” She whispered and giggled when something began to poke her from underneath the covers.

“Sorry, the thought of having you forever makes me horny.” Eric apologized without sincerity.

“Then you can have me.” She smiled.

“What about work and Linda and Connor?”

“They can fend for themselves, because I am not leaving this room for the rest of the day. I have you here and I’m not going to give you up.” She replied.

Eric smirked and kissed her again.  
***

Eric bounced his son on his knee as he watched Olivia dance with Connor. The whole community was there to celebrate the harvest and little William was six months old, drooling as he looked around wide eyed.

He cried out in delight when his mother made a face at him and Eric smiled, admiring him. He was born with thick curly brown hair like Olivia’s and blue eyes like his. So far Eric was told he looked like Connor did at the same age, so he supposed William would grow up to look similar to his brother, but right now he was all round and soft, not really resembling anyone at all.

William got bored of watching the dancers and turned to his father; his pudgy little hands raised to pull at Eric’s beard. Eric leaned closer to let him do it and enjoyed watching William’s toothless smile beam at him.

“Ouch.” He smiled when William pulled a little too hard, but otherwise didn’t budge.

The music stopped and his family came over to catch their breath. Olivia picked William up off his lap and cooed at the baby as she sat down next to Eric.

“Dad, can I help you paint the baby’s room tomorrow?” Connor asked before popping a grape into his mouth.

Last month Eric had started putting an addition on the cottage, because William was getting too big to share their room anymore and Eric needed something to do now that the crops were harvested.

Last year it was ordained that he was too big for the greenhouses and a little rough on the delicate plants that grew in them, so he became chief builder during the winter months, fixing buildings and fences or putting up new ones when needed and he rather liked it.

“Sure.” He replied and ruffled Connor’s blonde locks in affection.

Connor giggled and turned back to his plate of food; Eric felt such pride. He had two sons, one who took after him and one he hoped would take after his mother and stay in Amity for her sake, but it didn’t seem to bother her as much anymore, the possibility of them leaving, probably because she had Eric now.

He looked at them on his other side and found her and Linda both making faces at the little boy in Olivia’s arms. The gold ring on her left hand reflected the sunlight, obstructing his view of the words written on it. ‘Amity in body, but Dauntless in soul,’ it said.

They had gotten married a week after he proposed, with all of Amity watching and then her belly began to swell and he learned the art of being pregnant.

The constant puking for the first three months, the cravings, the sore back and feet, and the mood swings were interesting, but he loved her and he would do it all again for the baby that now grew in her womb and gave Olivia a glow.

If he wasn’t careful, he really would end up with ten kids and he smiled at the thought.

The End.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, how was it? Let me know with reviews!


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